Test whether one floating magnet can hold fusion plasma more simply and cheaply than a tokamak's giant external coils, as the first of a series of machines aiming at grid power in the 2030s.
Levitated its 0.5 t magnet while holding plasma (Feb 2026); next device Tahi planned.
Updated 17 Feb 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week
A ring magnet makes a field like Earth's or Jupiter's; plasma spread around it is naturally squeezed toward the ring and held there.
Supports holding the ring would cool the plasma and make it unstable; floating it removes every solid contact with the plasma.
Electromagnets outside the chamber, adjusted in real time, hold the half-tonne ring steady while it is charged and floating.
| Spec | Junior levitated dipole |
|---|---|
| Levitated magnet | About 0.5 tonnesR (reported) |
| Magnet diameter | About 1 mR (reported) |
| Vacuum chamber width | About 5 mR (reported) |
| Plasma temperature | Over 1 million °CR (reported) |
| Prototype cost | About NZ$10 millionR (reported) |
R reported by the company
OpenStar Technologies
Levitated dipole fusion, HTS magnets
Wellington, New Zealand startup founded in 2021 that floats a superconducting ring magnet inside a vacuum chamber to hold plasma, the levitated dipole approach, modelled on the magnetic fields around planets like Jupiter.
