Type One Energy Group

A stellarator is a fusion energy concept that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. International R&D is underway with a new class of stellarators setting performance records with the goal of generating stable and disruption-free power. Stellarators have been expensive and time consuming to build. Their large and complex electromagnets need to be shaped, supported, and positioned with precision. To overcome these challenges, two game-changing technologies hold great promise: advanced manufacturing (AM) to enable the complex shapes to be built accurately, rapidly, and economically; and high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets to reduce the size and weight of the reactor. This project will reduce the highest initial risks of building a non-planar HTS magnet by demonstrating whether HTS cable windings for an actual stellarator design maintain the needed tolerances and superconducting-current properties with three-dimensional bend radii as low as 10 cm. Success in this project will allow follow-on efforts to build a prototype non-planar HTS magnet coil to enable a stellarator development path to lower-cost fusion energy.