IPP Projects

As an alternative to the tokamak, IPP also conducts fusion experiments of the stellarator type with the Wendelstein devices. As opposed to tokamaks, stellarators confine the plasma without enlisting the magnetic field of a plasma current, i.e. they use a field generated solely by external coils. This makes stellarators basically suitable for steady-state operation. Tokamaks, on the other hand, can only work in pulsed mode unless provided with auxiliary facilities.

The Wendelstein 7-AS stellarator experiment, which was operated at IPP in Garching from 1988 till 2002, was the first test of basic elements of the stellarator optimisation.

Coil arrangement of the Wendelstein 7-AS fusion device