Magnet protection spurs tokamak fusion development

News

Tokamak Energy has developed a new magnet protection technology that promises to bring spherical tokamak power plants to market sooner.

 

The Oxford firm’s ST-40 fusion prototype is claimed to be the most advanced compact spherical compact tokamak in the world and is planned to reach plasma temperatures above 100m degrees Celsius in 2021. To achieve these temperatures – and deliver energy gain from fusion – scientists use high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to control the plasma.

Tokamak Energy said it has developed and tested ‘partial insulation’, a new magnet technology which allows these magnets to be built at power plant scale, and which is simpler than traditional systems used to protect HTS magnets at extreme temperatures.

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“For the first time, this latest test gives fusion developers an option for a new design of superconducting magnet that will be resistant to damage, reducing the cost and complexity of damage mitigation systems and the threat of downtime,” Chris Kelsall, CEO of Tokamak Energy said in a statement.

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