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RIC panel discusses pathway to fusion commercialization
Fusion leaders at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s annual Regulatory Information Conference discussed the path forward for regulating the burgeoning fusion industry. The speakers discussed government and private industry initiatives in the United States and United Kingdom, with a focus on efforts shaping the near-term deployment of commercial fusion machines.
A recurring theme was the need to explain the difference between fission and fusion. Representatives from the Department of Energy and Type One Energy highlighted this as an important distinction for regulators, as it will allow fusion to undergo its own independent maturation process for developing standards and regulations in the same way that fission has. Lea Perlas, Fusion Program director at the Virginia Department of Health, said that confusion between fission and fusion has been a common cause for misplaced concerns among community members surrounding Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ proposed fusion plant site near Richmond, Va.
Jack Hovingh
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 173-177
Hybrids and Nonelectric Applications | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22863
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Performance of an inertial fusion system for the production of hydrogen is compared to a tandem mirror system hydrogen producer. Both systems use the General Atomic sulfur-iodine hydrogen production cycle and produce no net electric power to the grid. An ICF-driven hydrogen producer will have higher system gains and lower electrical-consumption ratios than the design point for the tandem mirror system if the inertial fusion energy gain ηQ > 8.8. For the ICF system to have a higher hydrogen production rate per unit fusion power than the tandem mirror system requires that ηQ > 17. These can be achieved utilizing realistic laser and pellet performances.
