AI finds hidden safe zones inside a fusion reactor

New AI approach speeds up calculations vital to protecting the inside of fusion vessels from the intense heat of the plasma.

Scientists have developed a lightning-fast AI tool called HEAT-ML that can spot hidden “safe zones” inside a fusion reactor where parts are protected from blistering plasma heat. Finding these areas, known as magnetic shadows, is key to keeping reactors running safely and moving fusion energy closer to reality.

An artist’s interpretation of the inside of a fusion vessel, where some of the inner surfaces are directly exposed to the plasma. Some regions lie in the “magnetic shadow” of other components and are therefore magnetically shielded from the intense heat of the plasma. Credit: Kyle Palmer / PPPL Communications Department

A public-private partnership between Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory has led to a new artificial intelligence (AI) approach that is faster at finding what's known as "magnetic shadows" in a fusion vessel: safe havens protected from the intense heat of the plasma.

Known as HEAT-ML, the new AI could lay the foundation for software that significantly speeds up the design of future fusion systems. Such software could also enable good decision-making during fusion operations by adjusting the plasma so that potential problems are thwarted before they start.