Periodic Reporting for period 1 - TauEB (Tau-E Breakthrough (TauEB): Infinite clean energy through fusion power to the grid & beyond)
Reporting period: 2024-11-01 to 2025-10-31
The Tau-E Breakthrough (TauEB) project tackles one of Europe’s greatest challenges: delivering clean, safe, and sustainable energy to achieve climate neutrality and energy sovereignty. Nuclear fusion offers the potential of an abundant, zero-carbon energy source, supporting the European Green Deal, REPowerEU, and strategic autonomy. Yet, despite decades of investment, continuous fusion reactions remain elusive due to two critical requirements: plasma stability and long-term confinement with negligible leakage. Building on Novatron’s mirror fusion concept—which offers inherently stable plasma confinement—TauEB is investigating advanced plasma plugs to dramatically improve energy confinement time (τE). This step is essential for scaling the Novatron concept to a reactor that can deliver energy at a competitive Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE). By achieving this, TauEB aims to accelerate fusion’s transition from research to commercial deployment, creating a multibillion-euro market and delivering major environmental, economic, and geopolitical benefits.
TauEB represents a paradigm shift in fusion technology by integrating three complementary methods into one system: magnetic confinement via Novatron’s magnetic mirrors, ambipolar plugging using electrostatic potentials within the plasma, and ponderomotive confinement through an external RF electric field. This combination is expected to improve energy confinement by two orders of magnitude—well beyond what is needed for cost-competitive fusion. The project will advance from TRL2 to TRL4 and generate patents across all three domains and their integration.
By overcoming the confinement challenge, TauEB will enable efficient, economically viable fusion reactors, supporting climate neutrality through near-zero emissions, creating a multibillion-euro industry that strengthens Europe’s competitiveness, and reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports to enhance strategic autonomy and energy security.
To deliver these outcomes, TauEB brings together a multidisciplinary consortium: KTH, NSC KIPT, and UKAEA contribute expertise in plasma physics, magnetic confinement, advanced simulations, RF heating, and diagnostics; NFG provides the Novatron concept and engineering capabilities; and KIC SE ensures robust innovation and exploitation strategies aligned with EU policy frameworks.
TauEB represents a paradigm shift in fusion technology by integrating three complementary methods into one system: magnetic confinement via Novatron’s magnetic mirrors, ambipolar plugging using electrostatic potentials within the plasma, and ponderomotive confinement through an external RF electric field. This combination is expected to improve energy confinement by two orders of magnitude—well beyond what is needed for cost-competitive fusion. The project will advance from TRL2 to TRL4 and generate patents across all three domains and their integration.
By overcoming the confinement challenge, TauEB will enable efficient, economically viable fusion reactors, supporting climate neutrality through near-zero emissions, creating a multibillion-euro industry that strengthens Europe’s competitiveness, and reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports to enhance strategic autonomy and energy security.
To deliver these outcomes, TauEB brings together a multidisciplinary consortium: KTH, NSC KIPT, and UKAEA contribute expertise in plasma physics, magnetic confinement, advanced simulations, RF heating, and diagnostics; NFG provides the Novatron concept and engineering capabilities; and KIC SE ensures robust innovation and exploitation strategies aligned with EU policy frameworks.
Our mission involves evaluating vacuum fields resulting from different magnetic configurations in a tandem cell that utilizes a Novatron system as its base. Our goal is to pinpoint the most promising concept and justify our selection clearly.
The overall progress of the project is according to plans.The initial tandem mirror configurations have been developed. The feasibility of implementing plasma production and heating systems such as Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating and Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating has been examined. A theoretical study has been completed that identifies the plasma waves suitable for ponderomotive plugging.
Experiments in an upgraded Novatron 1 system with diagnostics and radio-frequency electrodes are planned with the goal to show enhanced plasma confinement and insights into ponderomotive effects. A system capable of generating and delivering a high-voltage electric wave field for ponderomotive plugging has been designed. The list of diagnostics to be used for the purpose of measuring energy confinement time has been confirmed.
A main objective of the project is a conceptual design model that includes all physics addressed in the project. The work completed to date has contributed to the first version - Alpha – of the physics model. This model incorporates the initial tandem mirror configurations. There is a clear route to also incorporate aspects of heating and pondermotive forces. However, to date these aspects have not been included.
The overall progress of the project is according to plans.The initial tandem mirror configurations have been developed. The feasibility of implementing plasma production and heating systems such as Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating and Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating has been examined. A theoretical study has been completed that identifies the plasma waves suitable for ponderomotive plugging.
Experiments in an upgraded Novatron 1 system with diagnostics and radio-frequency electrodes are planned with the goal to show enhanced plasma confinement and insights into ponderomotive effects. A system capable of generating and delivering a high-voltage electric wave field for ponderomotive plugging has been designed. The list of diagnostics to be used for the purpose of measuring energy confinement time has been confirmed.
A main objective of the project is a conceptual design model that includes all physics addressed in the project. The work completed to date has contributed to the first version - Alpha – of the physics model. This model incorporates the initial tandem mirror configurations. There is a clear route to also incorporate aspects of heating and pondermotive forces. However, to date these aspects have not been included.
The collective knowledge and experience of the consortium partners has resulted in a growing understanding in the areas of magnetic mirror physics, the pondermotive effect and ambipolar plugging. This new knowledge is already being deployed on the Novatron 1 platform and is also informing the concept definition of the Novatron 2 platform.
The initial tandem mirror configurations developed represent exploitable outcomes for the project, forming the foundation for advanced reactor design. Beyond this project, these configurations could serve as reference architectures for other magnetic confinement devices, offering a scalable and modular approach to fusion system design.
The initial tandem mirror configurations developed represent exploitable outcomes for the project, forming the foundation for advanced reactor design. Beyond this project, these configurations could serve as reference architectures for other magnetic confinement devices, offering a scalable and modular approach to fusion system design.