JT-60SA construction and research directions

The construction of the JT-60SA tokamak is one of the three projects of the Broader Approach activities being undertaken jointly by Japan and Europe. The construction of the new load assembly and the refurbishment of some reutilised equipment from JT-60U is now well underway, and is on track to produce its first plasma in March 2019. As a satellite tokamak of ITER, and being superconducting, JT-60SA has the objective of supporting ITER in its operation as well as complementing ITER in the definition of the design basis of DEMO, particularly to identify the best ways to extend plasma pulse lengths towards steady state. This paper reviews the progress so far in the hardware procurement underway in Japan and Europe for JT-60SA, highlighting the engineering solutions that have been adopted, and the current state of progress, where the on-site assembly of new components has just begun. While procurement and construction are underway, the fusion physics communities of Japan and Europe are engaging in planning the experimental programme. As currently envisaged, this will consist of an initial research phase of about 4 years, with a short hydrogen phase, followed by a low-level deuterium phase. After a planned refit of about a year this would be followed by a 5-year integrated research phase with almost full heating available, and requiring remote handling systems to be qualified part way through. This would be followed again after a 1-year refit by an extended research phase at full power. The paper also gives more details of this research plan.