Pegasus-III: Lighting a Match for Fusion Energy

Abstract: The potential to use fusion as a carbon-free, fuel-abundant energy source to meet the world's growing energy demands has motivated significant US and international research. One research path to realize fusion energy involves tokamaks that magnetically confine hot plasmas in the shape of a torus. Almost every tokamak fusion experiment in the world relies on magnetic induction from a central solenoid to drive the current necessary to create a fusion grade plasma. Minimizing or eliminating the need for a central solenoid in a tokamak would greatly simplify the construction and reduce the cost of these devices, increasing their viability for commercial energy production. A major facility enhancement is underway for Pegasus-III, a magnetic confinement experiment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The new experiment will study innovations in plasma startup techniques without a central solenoid using fusion reactor relevant technology.