Design and Construction of Taiwan’s First Tokamak for Nuclear Fusion Research — FIRST

En-Shih Chen¹, Tzong-Daw Wu¹, Tien-Fu Ko¹, Yu-Chen Li¹, Po-Hsiu Kuo¹, Ke-Chuan Weng¹, Yun-Ming Sung¹, Sue-Ray Lin², Hsien-Chou Lin², Wei-Yang Ma^1*

¹Department of Physics, National Atomic Research Institute, Taoyuan, Taiwan
²Department of Mechanical and System Engineering, National Atomic Research Institute, Taoyuan, Taiwan

* Presenter:Wei-Yang Ma, email:pony@nari.org.tw

Funded by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) since March 2023, this four-year project—jointly executed by the National Atomic Energy Research Institute (NARI), National Cheng Kung University, National Tsing Hua University, and the National Center for High-Performance Computing—is dedicated to constructing Taiwan’s first small-scale spherical tokamak, FIRST (Formosa Integrated Research Spherical Tokamak), located on the NARI’s campus. The project aims to generate high-temperature plasma with an electron temperature of 100 eV (approximately 1 million °C) and to develop magnetic confinement and steady-state plasma equilibrium designs capable of supporting high-β operation and a high bootstrap current fraction. NARI is responsible for site planning and system integration, including radiation assessment, mechanical and electromagnetic stress analyses, and the implementation of an AI-assisted three-layer control architecture for real-time plasma monitoring and adaptive feedback. The vacuum vessel and coil assemblies have been delivered to NARI and are currently being prepared for installation and testing. These interim achievements have been made possible through the dedication and collaborative efforts of the entire FIRST team, demonstrating steady progress toward the realization of Taiwan’s first tokamak and marking a significant milestone in advancing the nation’s nuclear-fusion research capability.

Keywords: tokamak, high-β, bootstrap current, magnetic confinement, plasma, FIRST