Fusion research facility reaches for the stars

The Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility (APFRF) has been officially launched at the Australian National University (ANU). Formerly the National Plasma Fusion Research Facility, the laboratory has been significantly upgraded thanks to a Commonwealth investment of $7.9 million from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme (NCRIS) and associated programs.

The facility was developed around Australia’s largest fusion experiment: the H-1 Heliac. This research into magnetically confined plasma is important in developing fusion energy, ie, fuel formed from the fusion of hydrogen into helium which powers the Sun and the stars - and could potentially provide millions of years of greenhouse gas-free, safe, base-load power on Earth.

Thanks to the NCRIS funds, the experiment will now be able to heat fusion experiments to temperatures hotter than the core of the Sun. It then uses strong magnetic fields to confine the hot fuel inside a doughnut-shaped vessel. The doughnut design is the basis for the next-step fusion energy experiment ITER, which is being built in the south of France by a global consortium of 35 nations.

ITER will have a volume 10 times larger than any existing magnetic fusion experiment and is planned to produce 500 MW of power - on par with a small power station. According to ITER Director General Osamu Motojima, the design of ITER “hinges on experiments being carried out in experiments around the world, such as the Plasma Fusion Research Facility”.

ANU is further contributing to ITER through the acquisition of a new machine, MagPIE, which will accelerate research into extreme materials to be used in future fusion experiments involving even higher temperatures and radiation levels. ANSTO CEO Dr Adi Paterson said the choice of materials for use in ITER is an active research area to which MagPIE is already contributing.

“Power plant fusion plasmas present an extreme materials challenge,” Dr Paterson said. “This facility helps us to test whether prototype new materials can withstand the heat flux damage inflicted by a fusion plasma.”

Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility Director Professor John Howard, right, with Dr Cormac Corr and the facility’s new machine, the MagPIE. Photo: Graham Tidy.

Other updates to the facility include:

• upgrading the original (pre-MNRF) medium power RF heating system;
• the purchase and installation of new RF antennas;
• the installation of a precision current regulator;
• an upgrade of the vacuum system;
• an upgrade of the data system;
• the installation of fast cameras and photomultiplier arrays;
• the use of the various H-1 power, heating and diagnostic systems on a small satellite device.

The event also saw the announcement of a five-year plan for fusion research, laying out pathways to Australian ITER involvement and enhancements to national experimental fusion science capabilities.