3 ms·

The Wendelstein 7-x is not designed to ever reach ignition. It's a (very large, very cool) research reactor studying stellarator geometry. Ignition will require

• ChuckMcM 7y ago
  I understand that, these are the bits that I like about the project: "Then, it will remain to be seen whether Wendelstein 7-X can also fulfil its optimisation goals during continuous operation – the essential advantage of stellarators." ... "Although Wendelstein 7-X is not designed to generate energy, the device is intended to prove that stellarators are suitable for use in power stations." And from the ITER Goals statement (https://www.iter.org/sci/Goals https://www.iter.org/sci/Goals) "ITER will not capture the power it produces as electricity, but as the first of all fusion experiments in history to produce net energy... it will prepare the way for the machine that can." My take away from that, is that if both machines fulfill their goals, then building a power station that uses the technology would be the next step. I expect two things to be true; First, the 7-x will prove out its goals before ITER does, and second given that the stellerator design is significantly less complex than the tokamak design, it will be realized as a test power plant before the tokamak power plant is.