Demonstration of Super-X divertor exhaust control for transient heat load management in compact fusion reactors
Journal article, 2025

Nuclear fusion could offer clean, abundant energy. However, managing the power exhausted from the core fusion plasma towards the reactor wall remains a major challenge. This is compounded in emerging compact reactor designs promising more cost-effective pathways towards commercial fusion energy. Alternative Divertor Configurations (ADCs) are a potential solution. In this work, we demonstrate exhaust control in ADCs, employing a novel method to diagnose the neutral gas buffer, which shields the target. Our work on the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak Upgrade shows that ADCs tackle key risks and uncertainties for fusion energy. Their highly reduced sensitivity to perturbations enables active exhaust control in otherwise unfeasible situations and facilitates an increased passive absorption of transients, which would otherwise damage the divertor. We observe a strong decoupling of each divertor from other reactor regions, enabling near-independent control of the divertors and core plasma. Our work showcases the real-world benefits of ADCs for effective heat load management in fusion power reactors.

Author

B. Kool

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)

Eindhoven University of Technology

K. Verhaegh

Eindhoven University of Technology

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

G. F. Derks

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)

Eindhoven University of Technology

T. A. Wijkamp

Eindhoven University of Technology

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)

J. Koenders

Eindhoven University of Technology

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)

N. Lonigro

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

University of York

G. McArdle

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

C. Vincent

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

J. Lovell

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

S.S. Henderson

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

Fabio Federici

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

D. Brida

Max Planck Society

Holger Reimerdes

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)

Nick Osborne

University of Liverpool

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

M. Berkel

Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)

I. Zychor

National Centre for Nuclear Research

M. Zurita

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)

M. Zuin

University of Padua

X. Zou

CEA Cadarache

V.K. Zotta

Sapienza University of Rome

A. Zohar

Jozef Stefan Institute

M. Zlobinski

Jülich Research Centre

C. Zimmermann

Max Planck Society

P. Zestanakis

National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)

M. Zerbini

ENEA

J. Zebrowski

National Centre for Nuclear Research

Y. Zayachuk

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

D. Zarzoso

Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moleculaires

P. Zanca

University of Padua

L. Zakharov

University of Helsinki

G. Zadvitskiy

Czech Academy of Sciences

B. Zaar

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

R. Yi

Jülich Research Centre

V. Yanovskiy

Czech Academy of Sciences

H. Yang

CEA Cadarache

Y. Yakovenko

National Academy of Sciences in Ukraine

Dmytro Yadykin

Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics

S. Xu

Jülich Research Centre

L. Xiang

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

I. Wyss

University of Rome Tor Vergata

C. Wuethrich

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL)

A. Wojenski

Warsaw University of Technology

M. Wischmeier

Max Planck Society

T. Wilson

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

M. Willensdorfer

Max Planck Society

Nature Energy

20587546 (eISSN)

Vol. In Press

Implementation of activities described in the Roadmap to Fusion during Horizon Europe through a joint programme of the members of the EUROfusion consortium

European Commission (EC) (101052200), 2021-01-01 -- 2025-12-31.

Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)

Fusion, Plasma and Space Physics

DOI

10.1038/s41560-025-01824-7

More information

Latest update

10/1/2025