World’s largest operating tokamak begins commissioning with major 8-meter coils upgrade
SMRTR summary
Eight meters wide and wound by hand directly inside the machine, two ring-shaped coils now sit at the heart of the world's largest operational tokamak.
Japan's JT-60SA fusion reactor has just entered a critical commissioning phase, with European and Japanese teams working together to bring the upgraded machine online ahead of plasma experiments planned for late 2026.
The reactor went through a two-year shutdown after its initial startup in 2023, during which engineers installed new heating systems, diagnostics, and a carbon-armored interior designed to handle far hotter, more powerful plasmas.
"We included diagnostics and cryopumps from Europe, as well as additional heating systems, key to achieving hotter, more powerful plasmas," said JT-60SA Project Leader Jerónimo García.
The stakes are high. Over 150 research proposals are under review, and the data gathered here will directly inform the construction of ITER in France and the future DEMO reactor, the one scientists hope will finally prove fusion power can work at scale.
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Interesting Engineering.
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