Demonstration of Super-X divertor exhaust control for transient heat load management in compact fusion reactors
Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 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.
Författare
B. Kool
Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
K. Verhaegh
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
G. F. Derks
Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
T. A. Wijkamp
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)
J. Koenders
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
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-Gesellschaft
Holger Reimerdes
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Nick Osborne
University of Liverpool
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
M. Berkel
Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER)
I. Zychor
Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych
M. Zurita
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
M. Zuin
Università di Padova
X. Zou
Centre CEA de Cadarache
V.K. Zotta
Sapienza Università di Roma
A. Zohar
Institut Jožef Stefan
M. Zlobinski
Forschungszentrum Jülich
C. Zimmermann
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
P. Zestanakis
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)
M. Zerbini
ENEA
J. Zebrowski
Narodowe Centrum Badań Jądrowych
Y. Zayachuk
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
D. Zarzoso
Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moleculaires
P. Zanca
Università di Padova
L. Zakharov
Helsingin Yliopisto
G. Zadvitskiy
Czech Academy of Sciences
B. Zaar
Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan (KTH)
R. Yi
Forschungszentrum Jülich
V. Yanovskiy
Czech Academy of Sciences
H. Yang
Centre CEA de Cadarache
Y. Yakovenko
National Academy of Sciences in Ukraine
Dmytro Yadykin
Chalmers, Rymd-, geo- och miljövetenskap, Astronomi och plasmafysik
S. Xu
Forschungszentrum Jülich
L. Xiang
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
I. Wyss
Universita degli Studi di Roma Tor Vergata
C. Wuethrich
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
A. Wojenski
Politechnika Warszawska
M. Wischmeier
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
T. Wilson
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
M. Willensdorfer
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Nature Energy
20587546 (eISSN)
Vol. In PressImplementation of activities described in the Roadmap to Fusion during Horizon Europe through a joint programme of the members of the EUROfusion consortium
Europeiska kommissionen (EU) (101052200), 2021-01-01 -- 2025-12-31.
Ämneskategorier (SSIF 2025)
Fusion, plasma och rymdfysik
DOI
10.1038/s41560-025-01824-7