30th October 2020 9:18 am. Commenting on the achievement of first plasma, UKAEA CEO, Ian Chapman, said: “MAST Upgrade will take us closer to delivering sustainable, clean fusion energy. The team at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) in South East England has notified the press that testing of plasma has begun on an upgrade to the Mega AMP A flash of purple plasma followed by applause echoing over a video connection: on 29 October 2020, the UK's new fusion device MAST Upgrade officially commenced operation. UKAEA's scientists now plan to test a new exhaust system called the Super-X divertor at MAST Upgrade. Send to . 1. Fusion researchers throughout Europe followed the first plasma discharge via video. A new, highly flexible divertor able to investigate Keywords: MAST, Upgrade, Design, Construction, Lessons Learned, Systems Engineering 1. Fusion reactors create incredible amounts of heat that can damage the reactor's components. Operating fusion technologies requires a careful balancing act of controlling extreme heat, gas and powerful magnetic fields, amongst other complex systems. MAST Upgrade, a tokamak with three metres in diameter, now has stronger magnets, additional instruments to observe and control the plasma, increased power of the particle heating devices and can generate plasma discharges up to five seconds duration. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA)'s fusion energy experiment - the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade tokamak at Culham Science Centre - has achieved first plasma for the first time. Researchers have tested a new nuclear fusion device and successfully generated plasma during an experiment in Oxfordshire. MAST first tested the concept on a large scale starting in 1999 and has now been upgraded with extra heating power, new technology for extracting heat from the plasma, and other improvements. The UK Atomic Energy Authority's fusion energy experiment - the Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade tokamak at Culham Science Centre - has achieved first plasma for the first time. (Courtesy: Culham Centre for Fusion Energy) Officials at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) in Oxfordshire, UK, have announced that they have achieved “first plasma” on the upgraded Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST). The first experimental campaign is expected to commence in 2019, utilising the new capabilities provided by the upgrade and high-resolution diagnostics to address key physics issues for the operation of ITER and the design of DEMO, principally plasma exhaust, energetic particle physics and the development of integrated scenarios. The MAST-U graduates Mike, Jimmy, Sarah, Mourmour, and Ellen joined the MAST-U project in 2018 and 2019. Progress toward first plasma will be presented, including integrated commissioning of the tokamak subsystems and calibration of the magnetics sensors. MAST Upgrade starts up its first plasma On 29 October, the UK's new fusion device MAST Upgrade officially commenced operation. Technical drawing of MAST Upgrade, a spherical tokamak with three metres in diameter. The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s £55m Mast (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak ) Upgrade machine has achieved first plasma – where all the essential components work together simultaneously. MAST Upgrade is currently being commissioned and … This new fusion energy device will develop novel exhaust concepts, increase our knowledge base for ITER and look at the feasibility of spherical tokamaks for future fusion power plants: bit.ly/3moBes4 Congratulations to the MAST upgrade team came from Programme Manager Tony Donné on behalf of the European fusion research programme EUROfusion: “We are looking forward to the scientific results from this machine with its super-long divertor leg, which will give important guidance to ITER and DEMO”. UK Science Minister, Amanda Solloway, said that powering up the MAST Upgrade device is a "landmark moment" for the national fusion … Following seven year of upgrade work on MAST … The MAST-Upgrade tokamak commenced operation with its first plasma at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the United Kingdom on 29 October 2020. The £55 million spherical reactor, the MAST Upgrade (MAST … MAST Upgrade will be the forerunner of the UK's prototype fusion power plant - Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) - due for completion by 2040. First Plasma Test on Upgraded MAST Reactor. The Swiss Plasma Center congratulates the MAST Upgrade team and looks forward to future scientific collaborations. If the divertor is successful, it could offer a 10 … First plasma for Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade 30th October 2020 9:18 am 30th October 2020 9:19 am The UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade has achieved ‘first plasma’, a breakthrough for fusion energy that demonstrates essential components working together simultaneously. MAST has undergone a substantial upgrade [1], featuring among other things several new poloidal field coils mostly distributed around the new closed-throat divertor structure and an enlarged centre column. An annotated cross section of the new machine is shown in figure 1. MAST Upgrade starts up its first plasma. Start of operation for compact Tokamak in Culham, Great Britain. For the first time, after a seven-year build, UKAEA’s £55M-machine, labelled Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak (MAST) Upgrade, has achieved “first plasma” – where all the essential components work together simultaneously.. Following seven year of upgrade work on MAST at a cost of £55m, the machine was fully powered up for the first time yesterday allowing the experimental programme to begin. Their work has contributed to putting MAST-U over the finish line, with their efforts in commissioning since April vindicated by first plasma this week. MAST Upgrade, ein im Durchmesser drei Meter … 31 October 2020. We use cookies to provide the best experience for you. The MAST-Upgrade tokamak commenced operation with its first plasma at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the United Kingdom on 29 October 2020. MAST Upgrade is the first tokamak to trial the ‘Super-X divertor’. Also some IPP scientists are planning comparative experiments at the two different tokamaks ASDEX Upgrade in Garching and MAST Upgrade in Culham. IPP is scientifically associated with the fusion research programme of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers and is member and coordinator of the European consortium EUROfusion. LinkedIn . As a result of the seven-year upgrade programme for the Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak (MAST), essentially a complete new fusion device was built with a stronger magnetic field and higher heating power. An annotated cross section of the new machine is shown in figure 1. The project was funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council, part of UK Research & Innovation and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. On October 29th, 2020, MAST Upgrade, UK’s new fusion experimental device, came to life. Producing electricity by means of a fusion reactor is still very much in the experimental stage. The Mast Upgrade fusion energy experiment has achieved ‘first plasma’, a vital step for the hugely promising future energy source. For MAST Upgrade, first plasma marked the culmination of a £55 million, seven-year upgrade project that was undertaken in 2013 to enable higher performance on the original MAST machine—including longer pulses, increased heating power and a stronger magnetic field. Plans for the first experimental campaign will also be presented. "Powering up the MAST Upgrade device is a landmark moment for this national fusion experiment and takes us another step closer towards our goal of building the UK's first fusion power plant by 2040." The MAST-U graduates Mike, Jimmy, Sarah, Mourmour, and Ellen joined the MAST-U project in 2018 and 2019. Das erste Plasma beim MAST Upgrade erfolgt nach einer siebenjährigen Bauzeit. Work supported by RCUK [Grant Number EP/I501045] and Euratom. First plasma for Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak Upgrade. Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: "We want the UK to be a world leader in fusion energy and to capitalise on its amazing potential as a clean energy source that could last for hundreds of years. «Mit einer staatlichen Finanzierung von GBP 55 Mio. One of the biggest challenges in fusion research has been controlling the amount of excess heat from the plasma. MAST Upgrade achieves first plasma. The UKAEA is designing STEP in an initial GBP220 million programme funded by the UK government and based on MAST Upgrade's spherical tokamak fusion concept. Fusion energy involves fusing hydrogen particles in a hot gas known as plasma to unlock large amounts of energy. To fix this problem, MAST Upgrade will be trialling a new kind of exhaust system called the 'Super-X divertor', designed to reduce heat and power loads from particles leaving the plasma. The £21 million of plasma … ‘Plasma exhaust’ is the challenge of removing excess heat from fusion machines without melting their surfaces. 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