Last week the latest and largest thermonuclear synthesis JT-60SA was launched in Japan. This reactor utilizes magnetic fields from superconducting coils to contain ionized gas within a vacuum chamber, forming a donut shape, in order to facilitate the fusion of hydrogen nuclei and release energy. Standing at four floors tall, the machine is capable of sustaining plasma heated up to 200 million degrees Celsius for approximately 100 seconds.
“This success demonstrates that the reactor fulfills its primary function,” said Sam Davis, Fusion for Energy’s project manager. However, it will still take an additional two years for the JT-60SA to commence generating the necessary plasma for physical experiments.
The JT-60SA will provide support to ITER, the largest international thermonuclear synthesis reactor currently being constructed in France. In turn, ITER will benefit from the technology and operational experience that will be tested on the JT-60SA.
The JT-60SA reactor, standing at a height of 15.5 meters, is half the size of ITER. Despite facing numerous delays and setbacks, such as the 2011 earthquake in Tohoku and a short circuit in 2021, the JT-60SA team remains focused on achieving their objectives.
However, the reactor has a limitation: only hydrogen and its deuterium isotope will be used in the experiments, excluding tritium – a radioactive isotope of hydrogen which is considered the most efficient for energy production.
By 2050, Japan plans to construct a demonstration power station, known as a demo, which will serve as an intermediary stage between the research conducted on the JT-60SA and ITER, and the eventual commercialization of thermonuclear synthesis.