DOE announces 10-year partnership on W7-X stellarator

The Department of Energy announced a 10-year project agreement with the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) to advance research on the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator.

"This agreement reflects our deep commitment to international partnerships that accelerate progress in fusion energy," said Jean Paul Allain, director of the Office of Fusion at the DOE. "The collaboration between the United States and IPP on W7-X has been extraordinarily productive for more than 20 years already, and this agreement pushes us forward into the next decade and beyond."

According to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, this collaboration is the first project to be established under "a new model project framework" that aims to streamline processes for initiating and expanding fusion research projects between the DOE and the European Union.

"Instead of starting from scratch every time, we now have a consistent legal framework for collaboration, which will make new partnerships easier to set up and more consistent," said Novimir Pablant, a principal research physicist at PPPL.

PPPL researchers have already been involved in the W7-X program, and this agreement represents a long-term commitment to partnership. The framework is designed to reduce the administrative burden of new partnerships, help managers follow best practices, and make it easier for oversight bodies to review the project for compliance, according to PPPL.

"Our collaboration with DOE has been a key factor in the major successes we have achieved at W7-X since the first plasma was produced in 2015. We are delighted to be able to continue our joint work," said Sibylle Günter, scientific director of IPP.

Last year, W7-X concluded an experimental campaign by sustaining a plasma with a high triple product for 43 seconds, far surpassing its own previous performance and, according to IPP, breaking previous tokamak records for long plasma durations.

Public-private partnership gateway: According to Pablant, PPPL could also use the new partnership framework to establish partnerships with private industry.

"PPPL's working agreements on W7-X are a good example of what a successful collaboration with a private company could look like, especially one involving a major public sector effort," said Pablant.