"Breakthrough: High-Temperature Superconducting Magnets Pave the Way for Fusion Power"

Engineers at MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center have achieved a world-record magnetic field strength of 20 tesla for a large-scale magnet made from high-temperature superconducting material, a crucial milestone for building a fusion power plant. The successful test, detailed in six peer-reviewed papers, demonstrates the practicality of such strong magnets at a greatly reduced size, potentially changing the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40. The new high-temperature superconducting material, REBCO, allows operation at 20 kelvins, offering significant advantages in material properties and practical engineering. The innovative magnet design, including the elimination of insulation around the superconducting tape, has been validated through rigorous testing, providing a solid foundation for the development of fusion devices.