German startup Proxima Fusion has introduced a groundbreaking fusion reactor design, promising a rapid path to commercially viable fusion energy. The reactor, named Stellaris, is a quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarator featuring high-temperature superconducting (HTS) technology.
This design employs intricate, twisted magnetic fields to confine hot plasma, essential for initiating fusion reactions. Stellaris aims to operate continuously and maintain intrinsic stability, a feat not yet achieved by other fusion power plant designs.
Proxima Fusion plans to complete its first demonstrator, dubbed Alpha, within six years. Alpha is expected to be the first fusion device to demonstrate net energy production in a steady state, paving the way for a 1GW fusion reactor anticipated to power the grid in the 2030s.
Stellarators like Stellaris offer several advantages over the more common tokamak reactors. They require less operational power and exhibit greater stability. However, their complexity has historically hindered development. Recent advancements in computational power and AI are helping to overcome these challenges, enabling Proxima to optimize reactor designs efficiently.
Stellaris is engineered to produce more power per unit volume than previous stellarators. The use of HTS magnets results in stronger magnetic fields, leading to smaller, faster-to-build, and more efficient reactors, thereby reducing both construction and operational costs.
Proxima Fusion, based in Munich, is the first company to emerge from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, a leading research center in fusion technology. In 2023, Proxima secured €20 million in funding to support its mission of transforming fusion energy from theoretical physics into a practical business.
For more details, the full specifications of the reactor were published in the journal Fusion Engineering and Design.
Read the original article at The Next Web.