German start-up presents concept design for advanced NPP

Proxima Fusion, a German start-up, has unveiled the concept design for its Stellaris nuclear power plant (NPP). The plant will use a stellarator, a doughnut-shaped ring with well-placed magnets that can hold the plasma that produces fusion energy, with high-temperature superconducting magnets. The advantage of this type of reactor is that it is better able to keep the plasma stable. Alpha, Proxima Fusion’s demonstration stellarator, is expected to be completed by 2031 and aims to demonstrate net fusion energy in a continuous operation concept. The Stellaris project is the result of collaboration between Proxima Fusion engineers and scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany. It will build on the results of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) research experiment at IPP and aims to produce more power per unit volume than any stellarator power plant designed to date. The stronger magnetic field will allow a significant reduction in size compared to older stellarators, resulting in more efficient power generation while remaining cost effective. The design of the concept is described in detail in a peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Fusion Engineering and Design.