Japan Unveils the World’s Largest Operational Nuclear Fusion Reactor
Japan marked a significant milestone on December 1 with the inauguration of JT-60SA, currently the world’s largest operational superconducting tokamak. Shaped like a donut, a tokamak is a nuclear fusion reactor, and this new facility, developed in collaboration with the European Union (EU), serves as a precursor to the under-construction International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France, set to open in the coming years.
Pursuing the Energy Output Challenge
The primary objective of JT-60SA and similar nuclear fusion reactors is to demonstrate a net energy output surpassing the energy input.
Nuclear fusion, mimicking the process that powers stars, holds the potential to generate a substantial amount of clean and carbon-free Energy. However, achieving the necessary conditions for fusion involves a delicate trade-off, requiring significant energy investment.
Tokamak Technology: A High-Temperature Endeavor
In contrast to other fusion approaches like inertial confinement fusion, which showed net gain last year but remains commercially unviable, the tokamak heats plasma within a powerful magnetic field to temperatures up to 200 million degrees Celsius (360 million degrees Fahrenheit).
The process involves currents reaching 1 million amps, far surpassing a typical household circuit’s 15 to 20 amps.
Scaling Up for Greater Energy Extraction
Researchers anticipate that scaling up tokamak technology, as demonstrated by projects like ITER, will lead to increased energy extraction. ITER, designed to achieve burning plasma and complete fusion by 2035, involves collaboration among 35 countries, including the EU, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Russia, China, and the United States.
The JT-60SA, having showcased its first plasma circulation with lower currents in October, is poised to inform future reactor approaches.
Key Role in the International Fusion Roadmap
Marc Lachaise, director of Fusion for Energy, emphasized the significance of JT-60SA in the international fusion roadmap during the inauguration. He highlighted the facility’s unique contribution to learning and operating fusion devices, with the knowledge gained being pivotal for the ITER project.
Fusion for Energy is responsible for the EU’s contribution to ITER, which is expected to witness its first fusion plasma in 2025 as it takes shape in the south of France.
Read the original article on IFL Science.
Read more: Fusion Technology Is Reaching a Turning Point that Could Change the Energy Game.
