Engineering design study demonstrates heating and fueling parameters for the Helios stellarator, highlighting viable startup and sustained self-heated operational regimes.
The design process for the ”Helios” stellarator power plant (Swanson et al., 2026) [1] began with zero-dimensional (”0D”) scoping studies to explore the parameter space, followed by a one-dimensional (”1D”) power balance analysis using the BP3 code (Geiger et al., 2024) [2] to investigate potential operational scenarios. This 1D analysis, which accounted for impurities and radiation effects, developed profiles consistent with a W7-X-like thermal diffusivity profile shape and was instrumental in refining the power plant’s operational point. Helios will utilize Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (”ECRH”) for plasma heating, employing ITER-spec gyrotron tubes at 170 GHz (Ikeda et al., 2021) [3] necessitated by its 6 T on-axis magnetic field. Microwaves will be launched from the in-board high-field side using the X1 polarization. An initial heating power of 10 MW is necessary for startup, which will then decrease to approximately 1 MW during the self-heated phase. Fueling will be managed using deuterium-tritium mixture ice pellet injection. Additionally, edge gas puffing will be used, which is also vital for maintaining optimal divertor edge conditions.
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Kumar et al. (2026) studied this question.
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