Hyperion runs 9.86 MA of plasma current (8.36 MA driven) — the frozen design-point value. That is well below the mega-amp plasmas of the flagship tokamaks, and it is a consequence of compact spherical-tokamak geometry rather than a stretch: lower current means lower stored energy and gentler disruptions.
A spherical tokamak reaches useful plasma pressure at lower current than a conventional aspect ratio, so Hyperion buys its fusion conditions at 9.86 MA rather than the tens of mega-amps a larger, higher-aspect machine would need. The lower the current, the smaller the disruption energy the structure must survive.
Current sets the disruption budget and the magnet ambition together. Holding it to 9.86 MA on a compact machine is how the breeder stays inside demonstrated engineering rather than betting on a first-of-its-kind coil set.
| Plasma current Ip | 9.86 MA (8.36 driven) |
| Consequence | lower disruption energy |
| Magnet ambition | inside precedent |
| Design goal | buildability |
| Machine | compact spherical tokamak |