The dream of unlimited, clean energy is closer thanks to a record-breaking supermagnet. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the world's largest private nuclear fusion company, has successfully tested a key component of its tokamak reactor SPARC: Central Solenoid Model Coil (CSMC).
This super magnet It is capable of generating a magnetic field of 5,7 Tesla, about 100.000 times stronger than Earth's, an achievement that can accelerate the path towards carbon-free energy production.
Supermagnete, why its numbers are really important
The CSMC test represents a major milestone for CFS, which has raised more than $2018 billion in funding to develop its fusion technology since 2. The company is working on the tokamak design for its SPARC reactor and had already successfully tested the Toroidal Field Model Coil (TFMC), another key component that together with the CSMC will serve to control the fusion plasma inside the reactor.
The TFMC has already demonstrated that it can operate with a constant electric current, but the CSMC still had to demonstrate that it can handle rapidly pulsing current. The test confirmed that the supermagnet can generate a magnetic field (and what a magnetic field!) while storing up to 3,7 megajoules of energy. This is an extraordinary result, achieved by increasing the electric current up to 50.000 amperes, the maximum expected for SPARC to operate.
A technological victory
To build the CSMC and TFMC, the Commonwealth Fusion Systems team had to develop their own high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cable technology that could handle the powerful pulsed magnets. The innovative approach, called PIT VIPER, uses an internal insulation design that minimizes heating even when current increases rapidly inside the magnet.
During the tests, CFS also demonstrated the effectiveness of its new fiber optic based detection system, capable of detecting overheating events that could damage the super magnet. An ingenious solution to monitor and protect such delicate and powerful components.
Brandon Sorbom, co-founder and scientific director of CFS, does not hide his enthusiasm for these results:
When we pressed the button and passed current through the magnet, it worked like a champ, hitting all the key test objectives. This is a major milestone on the road to commercialization.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Towards the first plasma in 2026
With both magnets built and tested, the CFS team will now focus on building SPARC at its facility in Devens, Massachusetts. The goal is to obtain the first plasma by 2026, to then supply the electricity grid nuclear fusion energy in the early 30s.
An ambitious goal, which will still require a lot of work and investment, but which today appears closer thanks to the success of the CSMC. After all, the stakes are very high: a virtually unlimited, clean and safe source of energy, capable of replacing fossil fuels and fighting climate change.
If SPARC lives up to its promise, it will truly change the future of humanity. And that future just got a little less distant, thanks to a record-breaking supermagnet and the hard work of a team of visionary scientists and engineers. Nuclear fusion, the “Holy Grail” of energy, is no longer just a dream. It’s a challenge we’re winning, one step at a time.
