Electromagnetics

New Stellarator Design Points the Way for Future Fusion Power Plants 

Using a new approach, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, Germany have developed a stellarator design that fulfils all the basic physics requirements for a viable fusion power plant. Inside the complex magnetic coils of a stellarator, the new design limits toroidal current in the plasma. […]

Electromagnetics

National Fusion Facility Achieves Milestone 

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. […]

Research & Development

Commonwealth Fusion Systems Delivers Superconducting Magnets to University of Wisconsin’s WHAM Project

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) recently announced that the company has delivered two high-tech superconducting magnets to a University of Wisconsin experiment called WHAM that seeks to breathe new life into a fusion energy approach called magnetic mirror fusion. […]

Electromagnetics

Magnetic Containment of Fusion Energy Seen as Key to ‘Breakthrough of the Century’ 

Focused on magnetic technology for the confinement of fusion energy, German venture-backed startups Gauss Fusion and Proxima Fusion are moving resolutely to become front-runners in the global race to pioneer commercial fusion power – seen by many as what could be one of the greatest breakthroughs of this century. New leadership, new partners and new funding are coming together at Gauss, but it is not a lone runner as Proxima builds on its close affiliation with the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics. […]

Electromagnetics

HTS Tape Manufacturers Scale Up for Magnetic Tokamak Growth for Fusion Energy 

The prospect of carbon-free energy from fusion has accelerated the development of tokamaks in recent years, driving the demand for high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape, the technology at the heart of the extremely strong electromagnets used to confine plasma in magnetic-confinement fusion reactors. Now, manufacturers of HTS tape, notably Faraday Factory and Fujikara, both located in Japan, are ramping up their production capabilities and deliveries as the global demand for HTS tape is expected to grow tenfold in the next five years. Lasers from Coherent Corp. are playing a key role.  […]

News

Superconducting Magnets Built by Tokamak Energy for Fusion Power

Creating clean, sustainable fusion energy requires strong magnetic fields to confine and control the extremely hot, positively-charged hydrogen fuel, which becomes a plasma several times hotter than the sun. Now, Tokamak Energy in the UK has built a world-first set of new generation high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to be assembled and tested in fusion power plant scenarios. The magnets use HTS tape from Furukawa Electric and SuperPower, a New York-based affiliate in the Furukawa Electric Group. […]