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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.
J. D. Gordon, D. H. Berwald, B. A. Flanders, J. K. Garner, S. C. Mortenson, J. F. Parmer, C. A. Sink, J. C. Yu, K. L. Agarwal, S. Dharmarajn, N. M. Ghoniem, N. J. Hoffman, J. R. Bilton, B. E. Kirstein
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 2 | September 1983 | Pages 1233-1238
Blanket and First Wall Engineering | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A23026
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A new, two-zone tandem mirror blanket designed for the dual applications of high efficiency electricity production or process heat for synthetic fuel production is presented. The blanket is self-sufficient in tritium production, delivers 46% of the blanket energy at 900 to 1000°C, meets guidelines for near-surface burial of radioactive wastes and couples to a power cycle that has a net efficiency of 44%. The design is based on a new concept of a dilute mixture of a solid breeder with a high temperature material that extends the temperature range of the breeder. The low temperature zone is Li17Pb83 cooled while the high temperature zone is cooled with helium.