Overview

• W7-X sustained a fusion triple product at record levels for 43 seconds, surpassing long-pulse benchmarks set by tokamaks such as JT-60U and JET.
• About 90 frozen hydrogen pellets were fired into the plasma by Oak Ridge’s new injector, maintaining ion density and enabling continuous refueling throughout the discharge.
• The device delivered a 360-second plasma pulse with a total energy turnover of 1.8 gigajoules, eclipsing its previous 1.3 GJ record from February 2023.
• By lowering the magnetic field to 70 percent, researchers raised the plasma beta to 3 percent across the full volume and achieved ion temperatures up to 40 million °C.
• The OP2.3 campaign’s achievements reflect collaboration among IPP, ORNL, KIT, the University of Stuttgart, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and other partners, advancing stellarator viability.