UK Atomic Energy Authority / DESNZ··ReleaseNuclear
New 12-tonne part doubles heating power of UK's fusion test reactor
UKAEA engineers at Culham Campus have fitted a 12-tonne "double beam box" to the MAST Upgrade fusion research machine. The component houses two neutral beam injectors that together double the machine's heating power, from 4.4 to 8.8 megawatts, and should roughly double plasma temperatures too, to about 60 million degrees Celsius. All the major hardware is due to be fitted by autumn 2027, with experiments planned to start in 2028.
Our readThe lift is a hardware milestone on the way to STEP, the UK's planned prototype fusion power plant, but the physics it is meant to prove out will not be tested until 2028.
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