The high magnetic field path to practical fusion energy

The emergence of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) as an industrially mature product opens up a new path to practical fusion energy.  The advantages of higher magnetic fields in enabling more compact, less expensive fusion devices have been known for decades.  But until recently, only copper magnets were capable of reaching fields much higher than 5-6 Tesla in a fusion experiment - effectively ruling out this class of devices for net power production. However, HTS tapes are now commercially available with performance and form factor suitable for making large-volume, high-field magnets for fusion. This talk will lay out the arguments and a possible pathway for realizing this approach.