A fusion device at the University of Wisconsin–Madison generated plasma for the first time Monday, opening a door to making the highly anticipated, carbon-free energy source a reality.
Over the past four years, a team of UW–Madison physicists and engineers has been constructing and testing the fusion energy device, known as WHAM (Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror) in UW’s Physical Sciences Lab in Stoughton. It transitioned to operations mode this week, marking a major milestone for the yearslong research project that’s received support from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“The outlook for decarbonizing our energy sector is just much higher with fusion than anything else,” says Cary Forest, a UW–Madison physics professor who has helped lead the development of WHAM. “First plasma is a crucial first step for us in that direction.”
WHAM started in 2020 as a partnership between UW–Madison, MIT and the company Commonwealth Fusion Systems. Now, WHAM will operate as a public-private partnership between UW–Madison and spinoff company Realta Fusion Inc., positioning it as major force for fusion research advances at the university.
