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Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
September 8–11, 2025
Atlanta, GA|Atlanta Marriott Marquis
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Fusion Science and Technology
August 2025
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Industry Update—August 2025
Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:
SMR service center targeted for Ontario
GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy has announced plans to invest as much as $50 million to establish a Canadian BWRX-300 Engineering and Service Center near Ontario Power Generation’s Darlington New Nuclear Project site. The Ontario government had previously approved the construction of the first of four BWRX-300 small modular reactors at the site. The center will provide engineering and technical services for the long-term operation and maintenance of the future fleet of SMRs in Ontario. It will also serve as a hub for innovation and training, knowledge sharing, supply chain engagement, and workforce development.
O. Kaneko, Y. Takeiri, K. Tsumori, M. Osakabe, K. Ikeda, K. Nagaoka, H. Nakano, LHD Experiment Group
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 58 | Number 1 | July-August 2010 | Pages 497-503
Chapter 9. Neutral Beam Interaction | Special Issue on Large Helical Device (LHD) | doi.org/10.13182/FST10-A10836
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A unique and reliable method of plasma initiation has been established in the Large Helical Device (LHD) by using neutral beam (NB) injection into vacuum. Since LHD is a superconducting machine, the confining magnetic field exists unrelated to plasma. Under these circumstances it is demonstrated that the NB can initiate plasma by itself. A small fraction of injected NB is ionized by collision with the background neutral gas and is confined by the magnetic field. Although these high-energy ions are lost quickly by charge exchange, they work as the energy source for ionizing the background neutral particles and heating the produced plasma. As a result, very thin but hot "seed" plasma is generated, which ionizes puffed gas and makes dense target plasma that is sufficient for NB absorption. This process is simulated numerically and the results agree well with the experimental observations for both absolute values and temporal behavior of plasma parameters. The method does not depend on magnetic field strength strongly, and plasma can be initiated at the magnetic field strength as low as 0.4 T, although standard field strength of LHD is 2.75 T. The progress of high-beta studies in LHD owes this plasma production method much.