The Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant, announced on 30 April the launch of the WISER project during the presentation of the new National Deep Tech Strategy Spain, an initiative involving 13 ministries aimed at transforming the country’s scientific potential into technological leadership.

Diana Morant highlighted the WISER (Wind-tunnel for a Stellarator Reactor) project as a key example of the Deep Tech Strategy. WISER operates in the field of fusion energy -the same energy that powers the stars in the cosmos- applied here on Earth. With an investment expected to reach €500 million, the project is the result of a partnership among CIEMAT, CDTI, and Técnicas Reunidas.

WISER includes the construction of an experimental stellarator and the development of key enabling technologies for future fusion reactors. The project builds on recent results obtained at the CIEMAT National Fusion Laboratory, including optimised stellarator configurations that achieve the confinement quality required for a reactor, as well as a rigorous formulation of geometric and dynamic similarity principles. These advances make it possible to define the parameters of a reduced-scale device capable of accurately predicting the behaviour of a full-scale reactor.

Thanks to these developments, WISER will be significantly smaller and more cost-effective than a conventional fusion reactor, while still enabling highly accurate performance predictions. This will reduce the financial, scientific and technological risks associated with the design and construction of future facilities.

Importantly, the convergence in Spain of WISER and IFMIF-DONES –two unique and complementary infrastructures designed to pave the way towards a fusion reactor- will place Spain in a leading position in the development of nuclear fusion.

Text and photos: CIEMAT and the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities