Sener has completed and delivered to Fusion for Energy (F4E) the centrifugal hydrogen pellet accelerator developed for the JT-60SA fusion reactor in Japan. The component has now arrived at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Germany, where it will be integrated and tested alongside the other elements of the pellet launching system.

The pellet launching system serves to fuel and help control the plasma by injecting frozen hydrogen pellets at supersonic speeds. In fusion devices such as JT-60SA and ITER (the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, currently under construction in France), these systems play a vital role in plasma fuelling and in advancing the technologies required for future fusion reactors.

The accelerator designed and manufactured by Sener is a five-metre-long vacuum system capable of accelerating hydrogen pellets to speeds of up to 600 m/s, with operating frequencies of up to 80 Hz. The equipment incorporates high-precision mechanical subsystems, optical diagnostics to monitor the integrity, shape and velocity of the pellets, and control solutions tailored to the requirements of a highly complex scientific facility.

F4E awarded Sener the contract to design, manufacture, validate and deliver the centrifugal hydrogen pellet accelerator as part of Europe’s contribution to JT-60SA. The project has been developed in collaboration with leading research centres, including CIEMAT and the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, drawing on expertise gained from previous generations of pellet launching systems and translating it into an advanced industrial solution.

JT-60SA is the world’s largest experimental tokamak currently in operation and a key facility within the collaboration between Europe and Japan to advance fusion energy. Its mission is to support the operation of ITER and complement its research by addressing the scientific and engineering challenges relevant to future demonstration fusion reactors.

With this delivery, Sener further strengthens its role in major international scientific facilities and in the development of advanced systems for extreme operating environments, where precision mechanical engineering, control systems, diagnostics, technology integration and experimental validation converge. The company is therefore contributing its industrial expertise to the development of a European supply chain for fusion technologies that, until now, have largely been developed within the research laboratory environment.