European fusion energy start-up Proxima Fusion has published a new peer-reviewed paper announcing a pioneering concept for a commercial fusion power plant designed for continuous operation.

The paper was published in Fusion Engineering and Design, and features the Stellaris concept, advances the case for quasi-isodynamic (QI) stellarators as a promising pathway to a commercial fusion power plant.

According to Proxima Fusion, Stellaris builds on the record-breaking results of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) research experiment in Germany, directed by the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) and the product of over €1.3 billion ($1.35 billion) in funding from the German Federal Government and the European Union.

The Stellaris work is the result of a public-private partnership between Proxima Fusion engineers and IPP scientists.

Dr Francesco Sciortino, co-founder and CEO of Proxima Fusion, said: “The path to commercial fusion power plants is now open. Stellaris is the first peer-reviewed concept for a fusion power plant that is designed to operate reliably and continuously, without the instabilities and disruptions seen in tokamaks and other approaches. Given increasing global energy demands and the escalating need for European energy security, unlocking limitless, clean energy through fusion has never been more urgent, and Proxima is committed to leading Europe into a fusion-powered future.”

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Stellaris is designed to produce much more power per unit volume than other stellarator power plants previously designed, states Proxima in a release.

The much stronger magnetic fields that are enabled by high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet technology allow for a significant reduction in size compared to previous stellarator concepts. Smaller reactors can be built more quickly, and cost effectively and the Stellaris concept leverages currently available supply chains.

Proxima’s simulation-driven engineering approach leverages advanced computing. Stellaris is the first QI stellarator-based power plant design that simultaneously meets all major physics and engineering constraints, as demonstrated through electromagnetic, structural, thermal, and neutronic simulations.

The technical features of the Stellaris design include:

Through its Stellarator Model Coil (SMC) demo magnet in 2027, Proxima Fusion aims to demonstrate that stellarators are capable of net energy production with its demo stellarator Alpha in 2031, and aims to deliver limitless, safe, clean fusion energy to the grid in the 2030s.

Prof. Dr Per Helander, head of the Stellarator Theory Division at the Max Planck IPP, said: “IPP is a pioneer of stellarator optimization. In recent years we have been able to design stellarators whose physics properties are predicted to grant unprecedented performance. This still leaves many technological and engineering challenges, problems that have been courageously addressed by Proxima Fusion in collaboration with IPP in this first of its kind study. This is important and necessary work on the path toward a fusion power plant, which we hope to accelerate through this collaboration.”

Dr Jorrit Lion, co-founder and chief scientist of Proxima Fusion, said: “For the first time, we are showing that fusion power plants based on QI-HTS stellarators are possible. The Stellaris design covers an unparalleled breadth of physics and engineering analyses in one coherent design. To make fusion energy a reality, we now need to proceed to a full engineering design and continue developing enabling technologies.”