# CEA’s WEST fusion facility runs its first ECRH gyrotron on plasma

> IRFM reports one-second heating pulses at 800 kW with the first gyrotron; 3 MW remains a later target.

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- Publisher: Newsverum
- Section: Energy
- Country: France
- Published: 2026-10-11T18:18:35+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-11T18:18:35+00:00
- Source review period: 2026-10-11
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The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission’s Institute for Magnetic Fusion Research (IRFM) said on October 9 that the electron cyclotron resonance heating system at its WEST tokamak had operated on plasma with its first gyrotron. The institute described this as a step toward injecting 3 MW of microwave power at 105 GHz.

IRFM said the test campaign had reached pulses at 800 kW for one second. A second gyrotron has been installed but is still being qualified, so 3 MW is a planned target for the developing system, not its current output.

## Data

### System milestone

IRFM’s October 9 announcement said WEST’s ECRH system had run on plasma with its first gyrotron and reached one-second pulses at 800 kW.

Methodology: System operation described in the dated announcement

| date | label | description | status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-09 | First-gyrotron operation reported in the October 9 announcement | The institute reported one-second pulses at 800 kW; the second gyrotron remains under qualification and the 3 MW target has not been reached. | occurred |

Sources: <https://irfm.cea.fr/2026/10/le-systeme-ecrh-de-west-operationnel-avec-un-premier-gyrotron/> · Download data: [JSON](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/france-west-ecrh-first-gyrotron-plasma-operation-october-2026/data/official-release?lang=en&format=json) · [CSV](https://newsverum.com/api/v1/articles/france-west-ecrh-first-gyrotron-plasma-operation-october-2026/data/official-release?lang=en&format=csv)

## Sources

- [Institut de recherche sur la fusion par confinement magnétique, CEA](<https://irfm.cea.fr/2026/10/le-systeme-ecrh-de-west-operationnel-avec-un-premier-gyrotron/>) (Source checked: 2026-10-11; Published: 2026-10-09)

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