Latest news with #Wendelstein7-X
NDTV
a day ago
- Science
- NDTV
Scientists Smash Nuclear Fusion Record, Igniting Hope For Limitless Clean Energy
Scientists in Germany have taken a giant leap towards producing near-limitless, clean energy using nuclear fusion -- the same fiery reaction that takes place in the core of the Sun. Using the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion reactor, the researchers managed to sustain the fusion experiment for an impressive 43 seconds, smashing the previous records, according to a report in LiveScience. Developing nuclear fusion for energy requirements has long been a goal of scientists but reaching temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius and sustaining its long-term operation has always proved a challenge. Moreover, current reactor concepts consume more energy than they are able to produce. However, using the machine with extremely low-density and electrically charged hydrogen gas as fuel, scientists managed to achieve the breakthrough. Wendelstein 7-X, officially called a 'stellarator', is a type of fusion device that confines hot, charged gas, known as plasma, with powerful external magnets controlling it. On May 22, plasma inside Wendelstein 7-X was raised to over 20 million Celsius, reaching a peak of 30 million Celsius. It also reached a new record high triple product, a key metric for the success of fusion power generators. The triple product is a combination of the density of particles in the plasma, the temperature required for these particles to fuse, and the energy confinement time. "The new record is a tremendous achievement by the international team. Elevating the triple product to tokamak levels during long plasma pulses marks another important milestone on the way toward a power-plant-capable stellarator," said Thomas Klinger, Head of Operations at Wendelstein 7-X. Notably, the highest values for the triple product were achieved by the Japanese Tokamak JT60U (decommissioned in 2008) and the European Tokamak facility JET in Great Britain (decommissioned in 2023). Holy grail Scientists regard nuclear fusion as the holy grail of energy. It is what powers our Sun as atomic nuclei are merged to create massive amounts of energy, which is the opposite of the fission process used in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants, where the heavy atom is split into multiple smaller ones. Last year, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion energy reactor, dubbed China's 'artificial sun', sustained plasma for a whopping 1,000 seconds, breaking the 403-second record it set in 2023. Unlike fission, fusion emits no greenhouse gases and carries less risk of accidents or the theft of atomic material. By mimicking the natural reaction of the sun, scientists are hoping that the technology may help harness near-unlimited amounts of energy and help battle the energy crisis, as well as power humanity's exploration beyond the solar system
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Nuclear fusion record smashed as German scientists take 'a significant step forward' to near-limitless clean energy
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A recently concluded experimental campaign at the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany has smashed previous fusion records and set a new benchmark for reactor performances. Nuclear fusion offers a tantalizing promise of unlimited clean energy. By smashing together isotopes (or different versions) of hydrogen at incredibly high temperatures, the resulting superheated plasma of electrons and ions fuses into heavier atoms, releasing a phenomenal amount of energy in the process. However, while this fusion reaction is self-sustaining under the extraordinary temperatures and pressures within stars, recreating these conditions on Earth is a huge technical challenge — and current reactor concepts still consume more energy than they are able to produce. Stellarators are one of the most promising reactor designs, so named for their mimicry of reactions in the sun. They use powerful external magnets to control the high-energy plasma within a ring-shaped vacuum chamber and maintain a stable, high pressure. Unlike simpler tokamak reactors — which pass a high current through the plasma to generate the required magnetic field — stellarators' external magnets are better at stabilizing the plasma through the fusion reactions, a feature that will ultimately be necessary when translating the technology to commercial power plants. In the recent experiments, the W7-X stellarator outperformed previous benchmarks set by the decommissioned tokamak reactors JT60U in Japan and JET in the UK, especially over how long the plasma can be sustained. Related: Nuclear fusion could be the clean energy of the future Most notably, the international team revealed that the reactor had reached a new record high triple product — a key metric for the success of fusion power generators. The triple product is a combination of the density of particles in the plasma, the temperature required for these particles to fuse, and the energy confinement time (a measure of how well the thermal energy is held by the system). A certain minimum value called the Lawson criterion marks the point at which the reaction produces more energy than it uses and becomes self-sustaining, so a higher triple product indicates a more efficient reaction. "The new record is a tremendous achievement by the international team," said Thomas Klinger, Head of Operations at Wendelstein 7-X and Head of Stellarator Dynamics and Transport at IPP in a statement. "Elevating the triple product to tokamak levels during long plasma pulses marks another important milestone on the way toward a power-plant-capable stellarator." Key to the success of this latest milestone was the development of a new fuel pellet injector that combined continuous refueling of the reactor with pulsed heating to maintain the required plasma temperature. Over a 43-second period, 90 frozen hydrogen pellets were fired into the plasma at up to 2,600 feet (800 metres) per second, roughly the speed of a bullet. Pre-programmed pulses of powerful microwaves heated the plasma, which reached a peak temperature of 30 million degrees C, and this coordination between the microwave pulses and the pellet injection crucially extended how long the plasma could be stably maintained. RELATED STORIES —Physicists solve nuclear fusion mystery with mayonnaise —There's 90,000 tons of nuclear waste in the US. How and where is it stored? —Just a fraction of the hydrogen hidden beneath Earth's surface could power Earth for 200 years, scientists find This same campaign also increased the energy turnover of the reaction to 1.8 gigajoules over a six-minute run, smashing the reactor's previous record of 1.3 gigajoules from February 2023. Energy turnover is a combination of the heating power and plasma duration of a fusion reactor and an indication of the reactor's ability to sustain the high-energy plasma. It is therefore another crucial parameter for future power plant operation. The new value even exceeds the record achieved by the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in China earlier this year, further evidencing stellarators' potential. "The records of this experimental campaign are much more than mere numbers. They represent a significant step forward in validating the stellarator concept—made possible through outstanding international collaboration," summarized Robert Wolf, Head of Stellarator Heating and Optimization at IPP in statement.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cutting-edge energy company makes major breakthrough in replicating the process that powers the sun: 'Setting the gold standard'
Type One Energy has achieved a major breakthrough in fusion energy research, publishing new research for a practical fusion pilot power plant in the Journal of Plasma Physics by Cambridge University Press. The articles could be a significant step toward making fusion power a commercial reality that could transform our energy landscape with clean, abundant electricity. Fusion energy replicates the same process that powers the sun: combining hydrogen atoms under extreme heat and pressure to release enormous amounts of energy. Unlike traditional power plants, fusion produces zero greenhouse gas pollution and minimal radioactive waste, offering a potentially limitless source of clean energy using hydrogen isotopes that are abundant on Earth. The breakthrough comes from years of collaborative research between Type One Energy and scientists from national laboratories and universities worldwide. The company's "Infinity Two" design uses stellarator technology — a machine that creates complex, helical magnetic fields to control superheated plasma where fusion occurs. Their research builds on successes from Germany's Wendelstein 7-X research stellarator but also tackles the challenge of scaling the technology to a commercial power plant. "The physics basis for our new fusion power plant is grounded in Type One Energy's expert knowledge about reliable, economic, electrical generation for the power grid," Type One Energy CEO Christofer Mowry explained. "We have an organization that understands this isn't only about designing a science project." "Fusion science and technology are experiencing a period of very rapid development, driven by both public and private enthusiasm for fusion power," added Alex Schekochihin, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford. "In this environment of creative and entrepreneurial ferment, it is crucial that new ideas and designs are both publicly shared and thoroughly scrutinised by the scientific community — Type One Energy and [the Journal of Plasma Physics] are setting the gold standard for how this is done." Fusion plants would require minimal fuel inputs while generating massive amounts of power, allowing cities to potentially slash their energy budgets while reducing air pollution, which causes respiratory illnesses. The company is already working with the Tennessee Valley Authority to develop its first fusion power plant project. Type One Energy's research marks an important milestone, but commercial fusion power plants are still years away. Industry experts estimate the first commercial plants might begin operation around the 2030s, with wider adoption in the following decades. While fusion represents the next potential generation of clean energy, you can still reduce your overall energy costs through existing options such as installing solar panels or joining community solar projects. Should we be digging into the ground to find new energy sources? Definitely No way As long as it's not near me As long as it's clean energy Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Associated Press
26-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Proxima Fusion and Partners Publish First of a Kind Fusion Power Plant Concept to Bring Limitless, Safe, Clean Energy to the Grid
, Europe's fastest-growing fusion energy startup, and its partners* today published a new peer-reviewed paper announcing the world's first integrated concept for a commercial fusion power plant designed to operate reliably and continuously. Published in Fusion Engineering and Design, the Stellaris concept is a major milestone for the fusion industry— advancing the case for quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators as the most promising pathway to a commercial fusion power plant. Stellaris builds on the record-breaking results of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) research experiment in Germany, the most advanced QI stellarator prototype in the world, directed by the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) and the product of over €1.3B in funding from the German Federal Government and the European Union. From W7-X to the future: the path to commercial fusion energy The Stellaris work is the result of a public-private partnership between Proxima Fusion engineers and IPP scientists. As the IPP's first spin-out company, Proxima Fusion has been building on the institute's cutting-edge experimental and theoretical work, with a strong engineering workforce from the likes of Google, Tesla, McLaren Formula-1, and SpaceX. Dr. Francesco Sciortino, Co-Founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, said: 'The path to commercial fusion power plants is now open. Stellaris is the first peer-reviewed concept for a fusion power plant that is designed to operate reliably and continuously, without the instabilities and disruptions seen in tokamaks and other approaches. Given increasing global energy demands and the escalating need for European energy security, unlocking limitless, clean energy through fusion has never been more urgent, and Proxima is committed to leading Europe into a fusion-powered future.' Fusion power in the next decade Stellaris is designed to produce much more power per unit volume than any stellarator power plant ever designed before. The much stronger magnetic fields that are enabled by high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology allow for a significant reduction in size compared to previous stellarator concepts. Smaller reactors can be built more quickly, provide more efficient energy generation, and promise to be more cost-effective in both construction and operation. The Stellaris concept also makes use of only currently available materials, meaning it will be buildable by expanding on today's supply chains. Proxima's simulation-driven engineering approach has enabled rapid design iterations, leveraging advanced computing. Stellaris is the first QI stellarator-based power plant design that simultaneously meets all major physics and engineering constraints, as demonstrated through electromagnetic, structural, thermal, and neutronic simulations. With the marriage of physics and engineering, enabled by the partnership with the IPP, Proxima is now poised to take a bold leap with its demonstration stellarator, Alpha, as opposed to building several devices with incremental improvements over a period of decades. The groundbreaking technical features of the Stellaris design include: a magnetic field design that obeys all key physics optimization goals for energy production; support structures that can bear the forces present when operating at full power; a showcase that HTS technology can be effectively integrated in high field stellarators, while ensuring effective heat management on internal surfaces; a neutron blanket concept that is adapted to the complex geometry of stellarators From vision to reality: bringing the power plant to life Through its Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) demo magnet in 2027, Proxima Fusion will fully de-risk HTS technology for stellarators. The company will demonstrate that stellarators are capable of net energy production with its demo stellarator Alpha in 2031, and aims to deliver limitless, safe, clean fusion energy to the grid in the 2030s. Prof. Dr. Per Helander, Head of the Stellarator Theory Division at the Max Planck IPP, said: 'IPP is a pioneer of stellarator optimization. In recent years we have been able to design stellarators whose physics properties are predicted to grant unprecedented performance. This still leaves many technological and engineering challenges, problems that have been courageously addressed by Proxima Fusion in collaboration with IPP in this first of its kind study. This is important and necessary work on the path toward a fusion power plant, which we hope to accelerate through this collaboration.' Dr. Jorrit Lion, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Proxima Fusion, said: 'For the first time, we are showing that fusion power plants based on QI-HTS stellarators are possible. The Stellaris design covers an unparalleled breadth of physics and engineering analyses in one coherent design. To make fusion energy a reality, we now need to proceed to a full engineering design and continue developing enabling technologies.' Ian Hogarth, a Partner at Plural, one of Proxima Fusion's earliest investors, added: 'The world needs fusion energy as soon as possible. Proxima Fusion's breakthrough puts the company firmly in the lead to create the stellarator power plant of the future. By combining advanced simulation and HTS magnets, the team has designed the most high-performance, grid-ready fusion power plant in the world in Stellaris. We are excited about the world-class team of physicists, mechanical engineers and magnet experts coming together in Munich to build a first-of-a-kind device.' *Partners: Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Instituto Superior Técnico Lisboa University of Wisconsin-Madison About Proxima Fusion Proxima Fusion spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in 2023 to build the first generation of fusion power plants using QI-HTS stellarators. Proxima has since assembled a world-class team of scientists and engineers from leading companies and institutions including the IPP, MIT, Harvard, SpaceX, Tesla, and McLaren. By taking a simulation-driven approach to engineering that leverages advanced computing and high-temperature superconductors to build on the groundbreaking results of the IPP's W7-X experiment, Proxima is leading Europe into a new era of clean energy, for good. Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 02/26/2025 08:01 AM/DISC: 02/26/2025 08:02 AM
