H-1 Heliac

Intelligence Summary: H-1 Heliac — Australia's Former Flagship Stellarator

Node Identity: The H-1 Heliac was Australia's only major magnetic confinement fusion device — a flexible three field-period helical-axis stellarator (major radius R=1.0 m, average minor radius ~0.15–0.2 m, magnetic field up to 0.5–0.6 T) — operated at the ANU Research School of Physics in Canberra from 1992 to 2022. It was promoted to a Major National Research Facility in 1996, becoming the Australian Plasma Fusion Research Facility (APFRF/H-1NF). The device was notable for its "flexible Heliac" coil set, which allowed precise tuning of the magnetic configuration via current ratio control between helical/vertical and poloidal/toroidal coils, enabling high-resolution parameter scans through different magnetic geometries.

Strategic Relevance: The H-1's transfer to China represents a major loss of domestic experimental fusion capability for Australia. In 2017, ANU signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of South China (USC) to transfer the H-1 as China's first stellarator device. The final plasma run occurred on May 8, 2017. The 25-tonne device was disassembled and shipped to USC in Hengyang, Hunan Province, arriving November 30, 2022, and reassembled as the "CN-H1" stellarator. This transfer — occurring during a period of increasing strategic tension between Australia and China, and just before the AUKUS pact — highlights the complex geopolitics of fusion technology cooperation. Australia retains theoretical/computational plasma physics expertise and the MAGPIE linear plasma device, but no longer operates a toroidal confinement device.

Technical Focus / Capabilities: The H-1 used RF for both plasma production and heating (up to 0.5 MW after upgrades), with a shot repetition rate of ~30 per hour. Research emphasis included finite-beta equilibria and stability, Alfvén eigenmode studies, fluctuation/turbulence phenomena, effects of RF on transport, and advanced diagnostic development (2D tomographic density reconstruction, far-forward laser scattering, coherence imaging). These capabilities contributed to fundamental plasma physics understanding relevant to both fusion energy and broader plasma applications.

Network Linkage: ANU formerly operated the H-1 Tokamak before its transfer to the University of South China. The loss of this device has shifted Australia's fusion research toward computational and theoretical work, with DEW research at DSTG becoming the primary plasma-relevant military technology pathway. The AUKUS alliance and TTCP framework now serve as the primary mechanisms for Australia to access advanced plasma and fusion technology through allied cooperation rather than domestic experimental facilities.