LNF: Evaluation of the impact of fast particles on refuelling with cryogenic pellets in stellarator reactors (PaRaPel)
LNF - Nationally funded project
Title: Evaluation of the impact of fast particles on refuelling with cryogenic pellets in stellarator reactors (PaRaPel)
Reference: PID2024-162966OA-I00
Programme and date: Proyectos de Generación de Conocimiento 2024
Programme type (Modalidad de proyecto): Proyectos Generación de Conocimiento - Investigación orientada
Area/subarea (Área temática / subárea): Clima, Energía y Movilidad / Energía
Principal Investigator(s): Nerea Panadero [1] Belén López-Miranda [2]
Project type: Proyecto individual
Start-end dates: 01/09/2025 - 31/08/2029
Financing granted (direct costs): 218 750 €
Acknowledgement: Grant PID2024-162966OA-I00 funded by MICIU/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and by “ERDF/EU”.
Description of the project
The PaRaPel project should be framed as a contributor to the solution of energy and climate problems. First, fusion has the potential to be a clean and sustainable energy source. Unlike fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases, fusion reactor will produce no emissions. This could contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. Second, it could be a reliable, abundant, and steady source of energy. This could make it a more robust energy source for population growing needs. Third, fusion power could help alleviating our dependence on foreign oil. Currently, we import about a large percentage of the used oil, making us vulnerable to price shocks and political instability. Fusion energy could contribute to reducing our dependence on foreign oil, making us more energy self-sufficient. Finally, fusion power could create new jobs and industries. The development of a fusion industry would create millions of new jobs and generate billions of euros in economic activity. There are, however, many challenges that need to be overcome before fusion power can become a reality. Indeed, MCF is a promising technology that could provide a clean and sustainable source of energy. Stellarators are one type of magnetic confinement device that has several advantages over tokamaks, such as intrinsic stability and operation in continuous mode. One of the key challenges is plasma fuelling. Understanding all the mechanisms that affect fuelling efficiency will enable the design of optimized fuelling schemes that result in peak density profiles, allowing stellarators to improve their performance and thus contribute to solving climate and energy-related problems. In particular, we expect to answer the following questions:
- How can fast particles affect the pellet ablation and the particle deposition in stellarators?
- How can fast ion losses affect the pellet fuelling and vice versa in stellarators?
- How can these results be extrapolated to reactor scenarios in order to improve the fuelling?
Characterizing and understanding the interaction of pellets and energetic particles could provide valuable insights into a critical area, helping to improve the design and operation of future fusion reactors. If we successfully meet this quest, it could contribute to lead to a new era of clean and abundant energy that could solve many of the world's most pressing problems.
Project documentation
Main results
During the 2025 financial year, the activities were carried out as part of project PID2024-162966OA-I00 (PaRaPel), with a view to achieving the objectives set out in "Plan Generación de Conocimiento 2024". These actions have contributed to the progress of the planned lines of work through the completion of technical tasks, inter-institutional coordination, and the development of interim results that strengthen the project’s implementation and ensure its continuity in subsequent phases. It is also worth highlighting the project’s marked cross-cutting nature, which has facilitated the coordination of activities that go beyond the initially defined objectives, integrating multidisciplinary approaches and fostering synergies between different fields of knowledge. This cross-cutting dimension has made it possible not only to optimise the use of interim results, but also to generate new complementary lines of work, reinforcing the project’s scientific and technical impact and its capacity to adapt to emerging challenges within the framework of the Plan. Consequently, the project’s development is not limited to the achievement of the specific objectives set out, but contributes more broadly to the advancement of knowledge and the consolidation of scientific collaboration networks of high strategic value.
Dissemination of project results (peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations)
Peer-reviewed publications:
1. P. Aguayo, G. Farias, A. González-Ganzábal, E. Fabregas, T. Estrada, B.van Milligen, A. Baciero, B. López-Miranda, F. Medina y G.A. Rattá-Gutiérrez, A data-driven approach to estimate plasma density in TJ-II stellarator. Fusion Engineering and Design 224 (2026) 115596.
2. A. González-Ganzábal, G.A. Rattá, T. Estrada, J. Martínez-Fernández, N. Panadero, Á. Cappa, B. López-Miranda,, A. Baciero, F. Martín, D. Tafalla, B.P. Van Milligen, F. Medina, Á. de la Peña, S. Dormido-Canto b , the TJ-II team. A comprehensive database of TJ-II signals and diagnostics for statistically based models. Fusion Engineering and Design 224 (2026) 115613
3. B. López-Miranda, D. Amador, J. Vega, S. Dormido-Canto, J. M. García-Regaña, J. de la Riva, A. Baciero, K. J. McCarthy, I. Pastor, and the TJ-II team. Estimation of ion temperature using an upgraded multichannel Doppler spectroscopic system in NBI-heated plasmas. Submitted manuscript (2026)