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Ono-Inomoto-Tanabe Lab
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A lab that merges plasmas and heats them, aiming for a cheap, compact fusion reactor.
AboutAbout the lab
Bringing the "artificial sun" of fusion energy to practical reactors
The Ono-Inomoto-Tanabe Lab conducts research to link fusion with more economical power-generating reactors.
The lab creates plasmas in large experimental devices, confines them with magnetic fields, and conducts experiments in which the plasmas are merged and heated.
Aiming for a simple, low-cost fusion reactor core, the lab conducts experiments on the spherical tokamak.
It also works on laboratory astrophysics, which studies the behavior of the Sun and stars in the laboratory, and carries out joint experiments with overseas research institutions.
Key terms
- Spherical tokamak
- A device that confines plasma with magnetic fields, shaped like an apple by making the hole of the doughnut small
- Magnetic reconnection
- A phenomenon in which magnetic field lines pointing in different directions reconnect, instantly converting magnetic energy into heat and particle motion
- Beta value
- A value showing how much plasma pressure can be confined relative to the applied magnetic field
NewsLab news
A student received the Young Researcher Presentation Award at the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Plasma Science and Nuclear Fusion Research
A student received the AAPPS-DPP Poster Prize
A student received the Dean's Award
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to improve the economics of fusion reactors and make them more compact. Based on plasma engineering and plasma physics, it conducts research through large-scale plasma experiments and computer simulations.
*Illustrative imageMerging plasmas to heat them all at once
Doughnut-shaped plasmas are merged and rapidly heated through magnetic reconnection, in which magnetic field lines reconnect. The lab is clarifying the heating mechanism, with the ultimate goal of achieving ignition in a fusion reactor.
*Illustrative imageMaking spherical tokamaks smaller and higher-performing
The lab studies high-beta spherical tokamaks, which confine a large amount of plasma with a weak magnetic field. It conducts experiments on compact reactor cores with an eye toward commercialization after ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
*Illustrative imageEfficiently forming field-reversed configurations
Focusing on the field-reversed configuration (FRC), a plasma shape with high beta, the lab is developing a method of forming it by merging toroidal plasmas along their axis.
*Illustrative imageRecreating space plasmas in the laboratory
The lab produces on Earth phenomena similar to those in solar and space plasmas, and works on "laboratory astrophysics," investigating the explosive energy conversion that accompanies the reconnection of magnetic field lines.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Ono-Inomoto-Tanabe Lab include faculty, Professors Emeriti, visiting faculty, Project Researchers, Visiting Collaborative Researchers, technical assistants, doctoral and master's students, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMichiaki InomotoPublications ↗
- Associate ProfessorHiroshi TanabePublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “MAST Tokamak ( )” Eye Steel Film / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Merging plasmas to heat them all at once: “MAST plasma image” Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Making spherical tokamaks smaller and higher-performing: “MAST bottom view ( )” Andy Busse / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Efficiently forming field-reversed configurations: “PFRC 2 pulse” Cswancmu / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Recreating space plasmas in the laboratory: “February 16, 2024 X2 5 Solar Flare (SVS14531 - SDO )” NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - A. J. Christensen, Scott Wiessinger / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Kumada-Sato-Fujii-Umemoto Lab): “Lichtenberg Fractal Figure 01” Timothee Rolland / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Baba Lab): “Transmission Lines at Sunset” Kkiefuik / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Ono Lab): “Atmospheric-pressure plasma” Alibabble / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Fujimoto-Shimizu-Gunji-Takano-Nguyen Lab): “Wheel hub motor of an electric kick scooter, sidepanel removed (2022)” Andrez1 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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