Helical Fusion, Sugino Complete One-of-a-Kind HTS Coil-Manufacturing Machine for Helix HARUKA

Helical Fusion Co., Ltd. and Sugino Machine Limited have completed a one-of-a-kind coil-manufacturing machine designed to wind the spiral high-temperature superconducting (HTS) coils for the Helix HARUKA integrated demonstration device, a move that shifts the project from lab validation toward production hardware. The partners say the machine will be transported to the HARUKA demonstration site and assembled there in 2026, where it will begin producing the specialized coils that form the magnet architecture of a helical stellarator.

Helical Fusion described the new tool as company-designed and Sugino-engineered: "Based on Helical Fusion's concept and realized through Sugino Machine's design and development capabilities, this is a one‑of‑a‑kind machine." Built at Sugino Machine's factory in Toyama Prefecture, the dedicated winder is explicitly aimed at converting Helical Fusion's HTS cable concept into repeatable, spiral-shaped coil hardware. The companies frame the equipment as central to the next step of the Helix Program: turning proven superconducting materials and coil tests into manufacturable components for a demonstrator device.

Technical context underpins that claim. Recent HTS magnet testing reported by The Fusion Report put a "double pancake coil" into the NIFS large-diameter high-field testing facility, where it "was subjected to a 7‑tesla external magnetic field. The coil, which was kept at a temperature of 15 degrees Kelvin... was able to achieve a stable current flow of 40kA for an extended period of time." That experimental validation, combined with Helical's October 2025 demonstration of a more malleable HTS cable, sets the technical baseline the new machine is meant to meet in volume and geometry.

Helical Fusion and Sugino pitch the winder as more than a production tool. "The machine is expected to enable efficient production of high‑performance coils and to play a critical role in the upcoming assembly of Helix HARUKA." Industry observers and company communications characterize the milestone as a tangible step from lab success to industrial supply chain buildout for stellarator components, a frequent bottleneck for advanced magnet devices.

The machine’s arrival and assembly at the HARUKA site are scheduled for 2026, after which coil trials and integration work should follow. Helical Fusion has raised approximately $38 million (JPY 6 billion) to date and is pursuing the Helix Program roadmap that targets standalone demonstrations of HTS magnets and an integrated blanket/divertor by around 2030, with an integrated HARUKA demonstration and follow-on power-producing Helix KANATA planned in the 2030s.

For readers tracking fusion hardware and supply-chain progress, the new winder marks a concrete manufacturing capability to watch: transport and on-site assembly in 2026, the first production coils and acceptance tests, and whether the machine delivers the repeatability and throughput needed to meet Helix Program schedules.