SPARC (tokamak)

SPARC is a tokamak that has been proposed for construction by Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC), with funding from Eni,[1] Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Temasek, Equinor, Devonshire Investors, and others.[2][3][4]

SPARC
Device TypeTokamak
LocationUSA
AffiliationCommonwealth Fusion Systems
Technical specifications
Major Radius1.85 m
Minor Radius0.57 m
Magnetic field12.2 T
Plasma current8.7 MA

SPARC plans to prove out the technology and physics required to build a power plant based on the ARC fusion power plant concept.[5] SPARC proposes to use powerful magnets built with yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) high temperature superconductor in order to produce plasmas that generate twice as much energy as is required to sustain the plasma at high temperatures (200 million Kelvin),[6] giving a fusion gain Q > 2.[5] SPARC is designed to meet this mission with margin and may be capable of achieving up to 140 MW of fusion power for 10 second bursts despite being a relatively compact device.[1][5]

As of September 2020, the researchers behind SPARC stated that they expected construction of the tokamak to begin in 2021 and take four years to complete.[7][8]

References
  1. "MIT and newly formed company launch novel approach to fusion power". MIT News. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  2. Rathi, Akshat. "In search of clean energy, investments in nuclear-fusion startups are heating up". Quartz. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  3. Systems, Commonwealth Fusion. "Commonwealth Fusion Systems Raises $115 Million and Closes Series A Round to Commercialize Fusion Energy". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  4. Systems, Commonwealth Fusion. "Commonwealth Fusion Systems Raises $84 Million in A2 Round". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  5. Creely, A. J.; Greenwald, M. J.; Ballinger, S. B.; Brunner, D.; Canik, J.; Doody, J.; Fülöp, T.; Garnier, D. T.; Granetz, R.; Gray, T. K.; Holland, C. (2020). "Overview of the SPARC tokamak". Journal of Plasma Physics. 86 (5). doi:10.1017/S0022377820001257. ISSN 0022-3778.
  6. "MIT Validates Science Behind New Nuclear Fusion Reactor Design". www.greentechmedia.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020.
  7. "Validating the physics behind the new MIT-designed fusion experiment". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  8. Fountain, Henry (2020-09-29). "Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor Is 'Very Likely to Work,' Studies Suggest". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
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