The D3D tokamak is the largest in North America, and the leading platform for testing technologies for future reactors such as ITER. <\/p>\n
According to Matthew Lanctot, PhD, acting division director of the fusion energy<\/a> science research division in the DOE Office of Science, the spin-polarized fusion (SPF) project is a targeted investment advancing DOE\u2019s fusion roadmap.<\/p>\n \u201cThe activity aims to leverage the expertise in spin-polarized materials developed by the Nuclear Physics program to influence relevant aspects of the nuclear fusion<\/a> reaction itself,\u201d Lanctot added. \u201cIf successful, theory predicts significant implications for fusion pilot plants.\u201d<\/p>\n The new approach involves aligning the intrinsic spin<\/a> of the particles, a quantum property that acts like a tiny magnet. When particles point in the same direction, they are considered spin-polarized. <\/p>\n This, as per theory, can significantly increase the probability of fusion reactions by about 50 percent, in addition to boosting overall energy output by as much as 80 percent, all while using less fuel. <\/p>\n A smarter fusion path<\/p>\n In order to test the concept, the team uses deuterium and helium-3, two isotopes with favorable properties. Even though most current fusion experiments rely on deuterium-tritium (D-T) fuel<\/a>, tritium is rare and radioactive. Helium-3, in contrast, has similar spin dynamics without the same supply and safety challenges.<\/p>\n \u201cBut you can make tritium using a neutron-plus-lithium reaction,\u201d Phillip Dobrenz, a Jefferson Lab staff engineer working on the SPF project, highlighted. \u201cSo, there\u2019s virtually no fuel supply limit with fusion as it stands.\u201d<\/p>\n Helium-3 is polarized using techniques inspired by medical MRI systems. Once prepared the fuel must be carefully transported and injected into the tokamak without losing its alignment.<\/p>\n The process takes milliseconds, however, it requires precise control of cryogenics and magnetic fields. In Phase I, the team acquired lithium deuteride (LiD), staged at Oak Ridge for pellet formation. Solid at room temperature, LiD is easy to store and transport, but difficult to polarize.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the next phase will focus on building and integrating the full system, including pellet injectors and diagnostic tools to measure if polarization survives in a 100-million-kelvin plasma. Final experiments, expected by 2030, will analyze fusion byproducts to confirm the effect.<\/p>\n If successful, the spin-polarized fuel could enable smaller, cheaper fusion reactors with less stringent ignition requirements, and accelerate the path to commercial fusion power. \u201cThe project\u2019s success would sprout a research field within the fusion industry,\u201d Dobrenz concluded in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n Based in Skopje, North Macedonia. Her work has appeared in Daily Mail, Mirror, Daily Star, Yahoo, NationalWorld, Newsweek, Press Gazette and others. She covers stories on batteries, wind energy, sustainable shipping and new discoveries. When she’s not chasing the next big science story, she’s traveling, exploring new cultures, or enjoying good food with even better wine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists in the US have been testing spin-polarized nuclear fuel inside tokamaks operating at around 100 million degrees…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[989,29949,85,990,46,187969,370,10477,141,187970,187971,2586],"class_list":{"0":"post-395945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-energy-amp-environment","9":"tag-fusion","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-inventions-and-machines","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-jefferson-lab","14":"tag-physics","15":"tag-power","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-spin-polarized-fuel","18":"tag-tokamak-reactor","19":"tag-usa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Z2_f23ca9.jpg\" "\\"US")
Jefferson Lab engineer Phillip Dobrenz (left) and physicist Xiangdong Wei, PhD.
Credit: Jefferson Lab \/ Aileen Devlin<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Z3_e666eb.jpg\" "\\"US")
This microwave generator forms radiofrequency waves that help polarize lithium-deuteride pellets for the spin-polarized fusion fuel project.
Credit: Jefferson Lab \/ Aileen Devlin<\/a><\/p>\n