Wendelstein 7-X

Geschichte

The Wendelstein 7-X reactor is an experimental stellarator built in Greifswald, Germany, by the Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics, and completed in October 2015. Its purpose is to advance stellarator technology and though this experimental reactor will consume far more power than it generates, it is used to evaluate the main components of a future fusion power plant; it was developed based on the predecessor Wendelstein 7-AS experimental reactor., the Wendelstein 7-X reactor was the largest stellarator device. It has been anticipated to achieve operations of up to approximately 30 minutes of continuous plasma discharge in 2021, thus demonstrating an essential feature of a future fusion power plant — continuous operation.The name of the project, referring to the mountain Wendelstein in Bavaria, was decided at the end of the 1950s, referencing the preceding project from Princeton University under the name Project Matterhorn.The research facility is an independent partner project with the University of Greifswald.Design and main componentsThe Wendelstein 7-X device is based on a five field-period Helias configuration. It is mainly a toroid, consisting of 50 non-planar and 20 planar superconducting magnetic coils, 3.5 m high, which induce a magnetic field that prevents the plasma from colliding with the reactor walls. The 50 non-planar coils are used for adjusting the magnetic field. It aims for a plasma density of 3×1020 particles per cubic metre, and a plasma temperature of 60–130 megakelvin (MK).