The DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego, home of the largest magnetic fusion research machine in the U.S., recently surpassed its 200,000th experimental cycle since it began operations, marking an important milestone in the development of clean fusion energy. Referred to as “shots,” each of these tests and discharges have advanced the U.S. fusion research program’s collective understanding of how to create, shape, and confine plasmas to support the development of fusion as a source of base-load energy in the future.
“While completing 200,000 shots is impressive in its own right, this achievement is far more than a mere number,” said Dr. Richard Buttery, director of the facility which is operated by General Atomics. “Those shots represent steady, important progress on the road to fusion energy. Each one is a challenge solved, a question answered, a career begun or progressed, or a new technology proven. In a very real sense, the history of DIII-D is a history of fusion energy research, and we are very excited for what we have planned for DIII-D in the future.”
In recent years, researchers have used DIII-D to make several important advancements in fusion, including surpassing a theoretical limitation on plasma density (an operational requirement for nearly all fusion power plant designs) and creating the world’s most powerful fusion plasmas in novel configurations. These experiments have significant implications for the design of future power plants and the associated costs related to building, operating, and maintaining them.
“DIII-D serves as a key physics and technology de-risk platform to bridge the gap between current magnetic confinement facilities and future fusion pilot plants. Leveraging its world-class diagnostic capability to validate advanced computational models, DIII-D informs the design of reliable solutions for potential future prototypes and fusion pilot plants. Moreover, DIII-D nurtures workforce talent that supplies both the burgeoning fusion industry ecosystem and moves the field closer to commercializing fusion energy,” said Dr. Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director of Science for Fusion Energy Sciences.
Supporting Rapid Growth in the Fusion Industry
As rapid advancements are made in public sector fusion research and development, the global fusion industry has grown significantly. According to the U.S. Fusion Industry Association, the global fusion industry has garnered more than $6.2 billion in private investments, with the goal of rapidly accelerating the deployment of commercial fusion energy at scale. As the nascent commercial fusion industry continues to develop, the DIII-D National Fusion Facility research program has rapidly realigned to support the ambitious goal of accelerating fusion energy.
“DIII-D is purpose-driven to meet the needs of its user community to support achieving fusion in the fastest possible timeframe. We host more than 700 users from over 100 institutions around the world, including a rapidly growing number of Users from industry, as we continually make improvements to the facility based on their research and development needs. Leveraging our world-class capabilities and hundreds of subject experts, we are proud to be a catalyst for the commercial fusion industry,” said Dr. Wayne Solomon, Vice President of Magnetic Fusion Energy at General Atomics.
Largest magnetic fusion research machine in the U.S.
General Atomics operates the DIII-D Facility on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. At the heart of the facility is the DIII-D tokamak, a toroidal (doughnut-shaped) vacuum chamber surrounded by powerful electromagnets. DIII-D’s magnet system is used to shape and confine plasmas – a state of matter with large quantities of ionized particles – at temperatures exceeding 10 times those of the Sun. At these high temperatures, hydrogen isotopes fuse together and release energy.
“With every success, we use what we learned to improve the DIII-D machine to stay on the cutting edge and better serve our user base. No other tokamak system—planned or operating—is as flexible, as nimble, or as uniquely outfitted with specialized measurement systems. We are proud to use these capabilities to support industry’s push to accelerate commercial fusion energy,” added Dr. Buttery.
Following a major eight-month upgrade in 2024, the new systems and improvements help strengthen DIII-D’s standing as one of the most flexible and capable magnetic fusion research facilities in the world. The research campaign now being pursued with the newly upgraded device will help close key gaps between current experiments, the first fusion pilot plants and future fusion reactors.
The upgrades include systems for enhanced control of fusion plasmas; a range of new diagnostic instruments; enhanced capabilities for heating plasmas and driving the current that supports the fusion reaction; and enhancements to the divertor system that removes exhaust heat and impurities from the tokamak. Together, the new technologies will play a key role in resolving many issues that must be tackled to bring fusion energy to the electrical grid. For more information, see www.d3dfusion.org and www.ga.com/diii-d.
