FPN04-25

Components Arriving for New German Stellarator

April 8, 2004

The first major components have been delivered for the new, billion-dollar-class stellarator, Wendelstein 7-X, being constructed in Greifswald, Germany. The components include a magnet coil, the first plasma vessel segment, vessel ports and a microwave transmitter for plasma heating. Stellarators are magnetic fusion configurations similar to tokamak configurations but having no plasma current. A much smaller ($86 million) "compact stellarator" is under construction in the U.S. at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. A billion-dollar-class stellarator,LHD, is already in operation in Japan.

Wendelstein 7-X is scheduled for completion in 2010.

The Wendelstein 7-X will be heated in continuous mode by ten microwave gyrotrons, each having one megawatt of power at a frequency of 140 gigahertz. Such gyrotrons previously have been limited to pulses of a few seconds and powers of a few hundred kilowatts. The improved tubes are being developed by the French company, Thales Electron Devices, and by the U.S. company, Communication and Power Industries (CPI).

Further information is posted at http://www.ipp.mpg.de

Information on the Japanese LHD stellarator is posted at http://www.lhd.nifs.ac.jp

Information on the U.S. compact stellarator, NCSX, is posted at http://www.pppl.gov/projects/pages/ncsx.html

A newsletter describing international stellarator research results is available at http://www.ornl.gov/fed/stelnews/