°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ

Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization publication(s) that you have requested. °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

News & Media

Latest °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Newsline

  • Fusion supply chain | A glimpse into the future for commercial fusion reactors

    Most of the USD 7 billion in investment in private fusion initiatives has gone to companies that are building devices from the ground up. But recently, another [...]

    Read more

  • Outreach | °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ @ October science festivals

    Every October, before schools pause for two weeks of holiday, towns and cities in France open their municipal spaces to scientific experts of all stripes who ar [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the week | °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Director-General visits Russia

    The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Director-General was in Russia last week, meeting with stakeholders and holding technical meetings with colleagues in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. As [...]

    Read more

  • Image of the Week | Sector 5 is on its way

    The first vacuum vessel sector produced in Europe travelled last week between Monfalcone, Italy, and the French port of Fos-sur-Mer. The 440-tonne component had [...]

    Read more

  • Anniversary | °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ Document Management system turns 20

    Whatever its nature, every large project generates huge numbers of documents. And when project collaborators operate from different countries, as was the case f [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

Fusion world

MAST Upgrade turns on the switch

Plasma is back inside the spherical chamber of the United Kingdom's MAST Upgrade tokamak after a seven-year campaign to upgrade the device. With its renewed capabilities, MAST Upgrade will serve as an important test bench for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ; it will also contribute to the body of knowledge that will go into designing a fusion power plant. 

During the seven-year transformation of MAST into MAST Upgrade (2013-2020), fully 90 percent of components were renewed. (Click to view larger version...)
During the seven-year transformation of MAST into MAST Upgrade (2013-2020), fully 90 percent of components were renewed.
In the control room of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, on 29 October 2020, the moment may have been brief but the satisfaction was immense.

First plasma for any device is the demonstration that the core of the machine has been assembled, that it is capable of sustaining plasma breakdown, and that all systems are working together smoothly.

For MAST Upgrade, first plasma marked the culmination of a £55 million, seven-year upgrade project that was undertaken in 2013 to enable higher performance on the original MAST machine—including longer pulses, increased heating power and a stronger magnetic field. Studies carried out on this spherical device will contribute a different spectrum of results to the worldwide base of physics data, which helps to predict °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ's performance.

MAST Upgrade will also investigate the important question of plasma exhaust—or how to remove excess heat from fusion machines in order to preserve materials. Its unique super-X divertor creates a magnetic configuration that spreads the heat loads at the divertor area of the machine, and could be a viable concept for fusion power stations.

Finally, MAST Upgrade is the forerunner of the United Kingdom's STEP fusion power plant, scheduled for completion in 2040. This £220 million program funded by the UK government will be based on MAST Upgrade's spherical tokamak concept.

You can watch MAST-U's first plasma shot in slow motion on the UKAEA's YouTube channel here.

If all goes according to plan, MAST Upgrade will run for 10 experimental days in December, and continue its operation in 2021. Further enhancements are planned in 2023, including extra neutral beam heating, control upgrades, and a cryoplant to manage the heat load on the divertor.

The Culham Centre for Fusion Energy is part of the UK Atomic Energy Authority and is based at Culham Science Centre near Oxford, England. MAST Upgrade was financed by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research & Innovation, and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

Find out more about MAST Upgrade here or watch this video.

 



return to the latest published articles