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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
Takeo Nishitani, Hiroyasu Tanigawa, Toshihiko Yamanishi, Susana Clement Lorenzo, Nadine Baluc, Kimio Hayashi, Noriyoshi Nakajima, Haruyuki Kimura, Masayoshi Sugimoto, Roland Heidinger, Pascal Garin, Hiroshi Matsumoto
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 62 | Number 1 | July-August 2012 | Pages 210-218
IFMIF | Proceedings of the Fifteenth International Conference on Fusion Reactor Materials, Part A: Fusion Technology | doi.org/10.13182/FST12-A14137
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
In parallel to the ITER program, the Broader Approach (BA) activities with three projects are being implemented by the European Union (EU) and Japan. Five research and development (R&D) tasks, mainly on blanket-related materials, are being carried out as the DEMO R&D program in the BA to establish key technologies required for the DEMO engineering design. The DEMO R&D building was constructed in March 2010, and the installation of research equipment was completed in March 2011. As the BA DEMO R&D, fabrication technology and/or characterization of reduced activation ferritic/martensitic steels, SiC/SiC composites, and the advanced neutron multiplier and advanced tritium breeder have progressed in Japan and the EU. In the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF)/Engineering Design and Engineering Validation Activities (EVEDA) project, engineering design and validations have progressed. The injector of the IFMIF prototype accelerator produced first beam successfully in May 2011 and will be delivered to the Rokkasho BA site in 2012. The commissioning of the EVEDA lithium test loop was completed in March 2011, and a lithium flow of 25 mm thick at [approximately]5 m/s was obtained.