NFRI Achieves Record in Long-Duration Plasma Operation

South Korea's artificial sun 'KSTAR' achieved a record-breaking performance in its first plasma experiment conducted after replacing the inner wall components.

KSTAR, the superconducting fusion device of the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy.

The KSTAR Research Division of the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (Director Yu Seok-jae) announced on the 20th that through the 2023 KSTAR plasma experiments conducted from December 2023 to February this year, it achieved a record of operating ultra-high temperature plasma with an ion temperature of 100 million degrees for 48 seconds and high-performance plasma operation mode (H-mode) for 102 seconds, which are core conditions for nuclear fusion.

KSTAR, a superconducting fusion device developed with domestic technology, first achieved plasma with an ion temperature of 100 million degrees in 2018 and set a world record in 2021 by maintaining 100 million-degree plasma for 30 seconds.

The institute also succeeded in continuously operating the high-performance plasma operation mode (High Confinement mode, H-mode), the most representative fusion operation mode that maintains high-temperature and high-density plasma conditions, for 102 seconds.

The institute explained that by replacing the divertor, one of the plasma-facing components inside KSTAR, with tungsten material, it was able to mitigate performance degradation caused by long-duration plasma operation and maintain plasma performance.

To realize fusion energy, it is essential to secure technology that can maintain ultra-high temperature and high-density plasma, where fusion reactions actively occur, for a long time. To this end, fusion researchers conduct various plasma operation studies using fusion devices like KSTAR.

Yoon Si-woo, head of the KSTAR Research Division at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy, explained, “To achieve KSTAR’s final operational goal, we plan to sequentially improve the performance of heating and current drive devices and secure core technologies required for long-duration plasma operation.” KSTAR’s ultimate goal is to operate ultra-high temperature plasma at 100 million degrees for 300 seconds by 2026. To achieve this, the KSTAR research team plans to replace all inner wall components of KSTAR with tungsten and focus on related research and device performance improvements, including securing artificial intelligence-based real-time feedback control technology.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.