Cryostat of Korean fusion experiment KSTAR installed
On 11 January 2007, the cryostat cylinder of the KSTAR tokamak — constructed by the Korean National Fusion Research Center (NFRC) — was installed, signifying that more than 95% of the tokamak assembly is now completed. The closure ceremony was attended by Mr. Kim Woo Sik, Vice Prime-Minister of the Korean Ministry of Science and Technology. The KSTAR project was launched in 1995. Its mission is to develop a fully superconducting medium-size tokamak similar in size to ASDEX-Upgrade in Germany and DIII-D in the United States.
The goal of the Korean fusion programme is to contribute to the development of fusion energy by providing useful technical information, via KSTAR, to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ programme and to join in the future foreseen development path for future fusion power plants.
NFRC expects that due to its long-pulse D-shaped plasma characteristics and modest operation cost, KSTAR can serve as a useful pilot experimental device prior to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ operation. Its expected 4 to 5 years of high power long-pulse operation before °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ comes online can provide useful technical knowledge and data for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ operation.
The South Korean government plans to produce a long-term plan this year focused on nuclear fusion energy. More information can be found on the .