A new current drive option for tokamak-based power plants ans.org

Researchers at General Atomics’ DIII-D facility have reported the first experimental confirmation of helicon current drive, an approach that could help tokamaks sustain steady-state operation without relying on a pulsed central solenoid. Their Physical Review Letters study found the waves were absorbed as predicted and drove plasma current; further tests at higher power and in other plasma regimes are needed to assess its usefulness for power plants.