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The 26th IAEA  kicked off today in Kyoto, Japan.

The biennial rendezvous for fusion researchers from over 40 countries, the conference aims to highlight worldwide advances in fusion theory, experimental results, technology, engineering, safety and socio-economics.

°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Director-General Bernard Bigot spoke on the first day, presenting the progress in °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ construction, manufacturing and R&D to an audience of scientists, engineers, policy makers, and representatives of industry.

Over 1,000 visitors are expected during the six-day event, hosted this year by the Government of Japan and organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency in cooperation with the Japanese National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS).

At the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ stand, visitors will have the occasion to experience a virtual reality tour of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ construction site (Oculus Rift) and admire a Lego tokamak designed and built by students from Kyoto University.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano (here with °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's Julie Marcillat) was one of the first visitors to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ stand on Monday 17 October.

The Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) facility at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) in the UK is undergoing a major upgrade that, once completed, will allow it to add to the knowledge base for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ and experiment with candidate technological solutions for future fusion power reactors.

The upgrade will permit longer pulse lengths, improved neutral beam heating, and new features to improve plasma profile control and the study of plasma instabilities.

Recently, progress on the largest sub-system—neutral beam heating—was made as the internal components were installed into two neutral beam injector vacuum vessels. The team is now on schedule to have both beamlines finished by the end of the year.

More information here:

At a specialized laboratory in Germany, electrical tests have been successfully performed on a 1/15th scale mockup of the high voltage deck planned for MITICA, the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ-sized neutral beam injector that will be tested in advance of installation on °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ at the PRIMA neutral beam test facility in Italy.

Positioned on four large gas-insulated columns at six metres above the floor, the 4 x 4 x 4 metre mockup was subjected to high voltage testing in order to validate the design choices of the European Domestic Agency supplier SIEMENS AG.

In a 24-hour period, the mockup passed one long-duration test (5 hours at 1.2 million volts DC) and several short-duration tests (impulses of 50 micro-seconds at 2.1 million volts). The tests were designed to verify that the deck will sustain the different voltage levels that are expected during MITICA operation.

Read more about the high voltage tests on the European Domestic Agency . For more on PRIMA, click here.