Faraday Factory Japan has supplied high-temperature superconductor (HTS) tape for magnet coils used in OpenStar Technologies’ magnet prototype, featuring a unique engineering design. As part of its efforts to prove levitated dipole technology, the New Zealand-based fusion power developer built a machine incorporating a battery-powered HTS dipole magnet, named Junior. Suspended within a vacuum chamber by magnetic force, Junior maintains an external plasma, which will act as the medium for the fusion reaction. The levitated dipole design alleviates many engineering constraints but requires an onboard energy source, as it remains unattached to the chamber walls.
In October 2024, OpenStar Technologies produced a 300,000°C plasma inside its demonstration device and successfully sustained it for 20 seconds.
Fusion power is a long-sought technology with the potential to decouple energy from resource constraints. Engineering barriers like creating strong magnetic fields confining extremely hot plasma must be overcome in order to enable commercially viable power generation technology. Magnet coils made from high temperature superconductors have proven to be the enabling game-changer for this tough-tech. It’s important to note that the development of OpenStar Technologies’ first machine took place at an extraordinary fast pace of 2 years on a budget of only $10 million. This important technology validation step was made possible for many reasons, last but not least due to availability of high temperature superconductor tape.
Faraday Factory Japan has been offering market-leading high temperature superconductor products since its start in 2011. A new factory in Zama (Kanagawa, Japan) has an annual output of over 2,500 km, contributing to keeping the fusion industry on a fast track to abundant, reliable and clean fusion power.
Faraday Factory Japan is the world’s largest manufacturer of high-temperature superconductors. The company started to operate its new production facility in 2024.
OpenStar Technologies was founded in 2021 in Wellington, New Zealand. Founder and CEO, Ratu Mataira, assembled an elite founding team to revive the levitated dipole concept. OpenStar has since achieved significant milestones in rapid time.
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