Assembling coated conductors (CC) into flat ROEBEL bars (RACC cable) was introduced in 2005 by the authors as a practicable method of reaching high transport currents in a low AC loss cable, which is a cable design suited for application in windings. The transport current of 1.02 kA in self-field at 77 K achieved so far, however, is still too low for several applications in electrical machinery such as larger transformers and generators/motors. A new cable concept for further increased currents was presented just recently. The goal of the new design was primarily to demonstrate the possibility of strongly increased transport currents without changing the important cable features for low AC losses. such as, for example, the transposition length of the strands. We present detailed investigations of the properties of this progressed cable design, which has threefold layered strands, an unchanged transposition pitch of 18.8 cm and finally the application of 45 coated conductors in the cable. A 1.1 m long sample (equivalent to six transposition lengths) was prepared from commercial Cu stabilized coated conductors purchased from Superpower. The measured new record DC transport current of the cable was 2628 A at 77 K in self-field (5 μV cm −1 criterion). The use of three slightly different current carrying batches of strand material (±10%) was a special feature of the cable, which allowed for interesting investigations of current redistribution effects in the cable, by monitoring a representative strand of each batch during the critical current measurement. Although current redistribution effects showed a complex situation, the behaviour of the cable was found to be absolutely stable under all operational conditions, even above the critical current. The high self-field degradation of the critical current reached the order of 60% at 77 K, and could be modelled satisfactory with calculations based on a proven Biot-Savart-law approach, adapted to the specific boundary conditions given in this new cable design.

RBCO ( = Y or Rare Earth element) coated conductors (CC) are the most promising HTS materials for future high field coils operated at moderately high temperature (40-50 K). Coils are planned for the second generation of fusion reactors (DEMO, "DEMOnstrator") and beyond. A ROEBEL bar concept for a high current (kA-class) low AC loss cable is the most suitable assembling technique for conductors in magnet windings due to the flat rectangular cross section. The presented RACC-cable technique (RACC=ROEBEL Assembled Coated Conductors) works with pre-shaping of tapes into strands with the ROEBEL specific meander geometry. The usually very good bending properties of the CC support the assembling procedure of the RACC-cable. We report on a 16 strand RACC-cable with 19 cm transposition length made from CC material from the commercial supplier SuperPower which reached 1020 A transport critical current at 77 K ( eng = 11 3 kAcm 2 ). The basic properties of the virgin YBCO tapes and the shaped strands like orientation and field dependent transport currents, current homogeneity and bending effects, were investigated and correlated with the measured properties of the RACC-cable. Calculation of the self field effects by means of a model adapted to the specific RACC-cable geometry and in particular taking into account the current distribution in the cable, explained the 30% current reduction in the cable quantitatively.Index Terms-HTS coated conductors, ROEBEL bar, self field effects.

The next step in the Wendelstein stellarator line is the large superconducting device Wendelstein 7-X, currently under construction in Greifswald, Germany. Steady-state operation is an intrinsic feature of stellarators, and one key element of the Wendelstein 7-X mission is to demonstrate steady-state operation under plasma conditions relevant for a fusion power plant. Steady-state operation of a fusion device, on the one hand, requires the implementation of special technologies, giving rise to technical challenges during the design, fabrication and assembly of such a device. On the other hand, also the physics development of steady-state operation at high plasma performance poses a challenge and careful preparation. The electron cyclotron resonance heating system, diagnostics, experiment control and data acquisition are prepared for plasma operation lasting 30 min. This requires many new technological approaches for plasma heating and diagnostics as well as new concepts for experiment control and data acquisition.

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In the framework of the DEMOnstration fusion power plant (DEMO) design coordinated by the EUROfusion consortium, a pre-conceptual design of the superconducting magnet system has been developed. For the toroidal field coils (TFCs), three winding pack (WP) options have been proposed; exploring different winding approaches (pancakes vs. layers), and manufacturing techniques (react & wind vs. wind & react Nb 3 Sn). Thermal-hydraulic and mechanical analyses on the three WPs have produced encouraging results, with some critical issues to be solved in future studies and optimizations. The experimental tests on TF prototype short sample conductors have demonstrated a limited performance degradation with electromagnetic cycles and significantly lower effective strains than most of the large-size Nb 3 Sn conductors reported in literature. The toroidal field quench protection circuit has been studied, starting from different topologies and focusing on the most promising one. Two designs are also presented for the central solenoid magnet, with preliminary evaluations on the AC losses during the plasma breakdown. Finally, the design of a TF winding pack based on HTS conductors and the experimental tests on "fusion-relevant" HTS cables are illustrated.