Towards a steady-state fusion reactor: understanding and controlling eruptive instabilities in tokamaks

The international fusion device ITER, under construction in France, is aiming to demonstrate sustained fusion power gain. However, steady state reactor operation requires tight control of the plasma current and pressure gradients in the presence of instability-induced, periodic explosive releases of plasma energy. In a coordinated program at billion-dollar facilities in Europe, Korea and the USA, and enabled by optical technologies invented in Australia, this proposal addresses an urgent need to win a better understanding of these disruptive instabilities and to secure the tools for their suppression.