Helical Fusion members celebrating the successful HTS test with an “HTS Graduation!” sign and graduation caps
A major development in nuclear fusion has taken place in Japan. Helical Fusion, a relatively new startup that was established in 2021, has just completed its first successful test at commercial scale of a High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) coil. The test was performed at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) in Japan and led by Takaya Taguchi, was able to run a current of 40,000 amperes in extreme conditions.
The coil was tested at -258°C in a magnetic field of 7 tesla, similar conditions needed to hold plasma in a fusion reactor. The successful testing of the coil is a big advance for the potential of fusion energy providing us with virtually unlimited, carbon-free electrical power. Fusion energy is the process that occurs in our Sun, and researchers have struggled for decades with the ultimate challenge of controlling the plasma for the fusion reaction.
Instead of a conventional tokamak reactor, it uses a helical stellarator design which is more stable and requires less input and turning off and on. Helical Fusion plans to move on to its Helix HARUKA experimental device and then Helix KANATA the first fusion pilot reactor to be designed to operate and produce electrical power in contiguous fashion.
Japan's investment into fusion energy is not nearly as great as that of the U.S. and China but this success can help motivate their place in the global race to fusion.
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