°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ-JT-60SA collaboration in full swing
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization is gaining knowledge and experience through active involvement in the commissioning activities underway on the JT-60SA tokamak in Japan. The valuable collaboration is made possible through a trilateral agreement with the partners of the Broader Approach, which is an agreement between Europe and Japan on advanced fusion activities.
The activities have been devised to complement °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ in the efforts towards the development of fusion energy. The projects under the Broader Approach are: the satellite tokamak ; engineering validation design activities and a full-scale prototype of an accelerator to test new materials (IFMIF/EVEDA); and the International Fusion Energy Research Center (IFERC), which includes the realization and operation of a supercomputer and the implementation of next-phase (DEMO) design and R&D activities.
The first collaboration under the trilateral arrangement was launched in 2020, concurrently with the completion of assembly of the JT-60SA tokamak and the start of its integrated commissioning activities. Under the new collaboration, a work program of joint °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ-F4E-QST activities has been defined for 2020/2021 with focus on sharing of experience in the areas of tokamak assembly, system and integrated commissioning, and first plasma operation in JT-60SA. The acquisition of this experience is presently the highest priority for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ, which began machine assembly this year, with the goal of minimizing risks in the coming years.
To that end, °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff have been informed of the procedures followed and lessons learned during JT-60SA machine assembly and are actively participating in the integrated commissioning activities presently in progress. While it was originally foreseen that several °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff members would be involved in-person at the QST Naka site, due to the COVID-19 restrictions most of the participation had to take place remotely and only one °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff member could be present at Naka this year. This notwithstanding, remote collaboration has been effective with °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff participating in JT-60SA weekly progress and planning meetings on integrated commissioning activities by teleconference, as well as in specially arranged meetings to share knowledge and experience gained by the JT-60SA team with a wide range of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ specialists.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the knowledge and experience shared during the present phase of the JT-60SA program represents a unique opportunity for the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ staff to refine plans for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's First Plasma phase, which includes integrated commissioning, First Plasma demonstration and operation of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ magnets to the nominal currents required for 15 MA plasmas. Soon after, from 2023 onwards, the IO-F4E-QST collaboration on the basis of the will support the optimization of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Research Plan and thus contribute to the achievement of °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's fusion power production goals in the most effective way.
*QST = Japan's National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology