Progress in JT-60SA construction, research plan and research activities

Yoshida, Maiko

Mission of the JT-60SA project is to contribute to early realization of fusion energy by addressing key issues for ITER and DEMO. For the first plasma in March 2019, the manufacture of the main components has been going well on schedule both in the EU and Japan, and the JT-60SA project is now entering a new phase as it moves from manufacture of components to assembly. Parallel to the JT-60SA construction, the research plan for JT-60SA has been discussed in the fusion communities in Japan and Europe (more than 330 researchers from 40 institutes) to deepen and sharpen the research strategy for JT-60SA. Experiments in JT-60SA will be conducted over a wide range of operational regimes including ITER and DEMO relevant regimes. Both physics understanding of high performance plasmas (leading to plasma modeling) and developing plasma control systems are critical issues for ITER and DEMO that should be undertaken in JT-60SA.