Fusion facility gets EPSRC approval

Initially, the upgrades on the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) facility at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy will focus on developing a compact fusion source. This will hopefully enable the construction of a cost-effective component test facility to study the engineering of commercial fusion reactors.

Further upgrades will lead to studies on the physics and control of high-performance plasmas to improve the future operation of ITER – an international project to design and build an experimental fusion reactor based on the ‘tokamak’ concept.

The spherical tokamak is a compact alternative to the JET-ITER-style magnetic-confinement fusion configuration. Spherical tokamak innovations promise to deliver more efficient energy production in fusion reactors.

The final round of upgrades will prepare the machine to be the first to trial the Super-X divertor, an innovative plasma exhaust system capable of handling the huge power loads of future commercial reactors.

It is expected that the upgrades will be completed by 2015. These upgrades follow the recommendations of an independent review of the fusion programme for Research Councils UK, published in February 2010, which endorsed MAST Upgrade as part of a long-term funding strategy for UK magnetic-confinement fusion research.