Speaker
Description
The development of compact fusion power plants is essential to minimize capital costs and accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy. Achieving high power density at a reduced reactor scale requires a robust technological and physical framework. Within this context, High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) emerge as a critical enabler, allowing for significantly higher on-axis magnetic fields and more compact designs due to higher current density limits. This technological advancement enables a high-field central column even under the strict spatial constraints of compact reactor geometries, providing the necessary confinement to reach fusion gain in a smaller device.
However, the high power density enabled by high-field operation magnifies the challenges of power exhaust, plasma stability, and radiation protection. This study proposes that the integration of Negative Triangularity (NT) and Low Aspect Ratio (LAR) configurations offers an effective approach to overcome these bottlenecks. While the LAR design provides an efficient path to high-pressure operation, NT provides the physics basis necessary to manage the resulting heat loads and neutronics requirements. The combination of NT-LAR benefits from:
1. ELM-free operation: achieving H-mode-level core confinement within a robust Lmode-like edge, thereby eliminating the risk of transient heat pulses to the plasmafacing components.
2. Increased divertor wetted area: the geometry of NT naturally places the X-point at a
larger radius and allows for more efficient, outboard-located divertor structures, which
are easier to implement in a compact device.
3. Enhanced stability: combined enhancements in MHD stability limits that permit
reliable operation at the high plasma pressures required for a pilot plant.
4. Neutronic volume optimization: by shifting the plasma volume toward the outboard
side, the NT configuration maximizes the available space for neutronics in the
inboard, where space is highly constrained.
In this work, we present the results of integrated modelling for a pilot plant (Q > 5) and a
fusion power plant (Q > 25) based on this concept. The operational points for these machines, identified through an optimization of physical and technological constraints, are introduced and analysed, demonstrating the viability of the high-field NT-LAR architecture as a feasible pathway for commercial fusion energy.