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Fusion energy: Progress, partnerships, and the path to deployment
Over the past decade, fusion energy has moved decisively from scientific aspiration toward a credible pathway to a new energy technology. Thanks to long-term federal support, we have significantly advanced our fundamental understanding of plasma physics—the behavior of the superheated gases at the heart of fusion devices. This knowledge will enable the creation and control of fusion fuel under conditions required for future power plants. Our progress is exemplified by breakthroughs at the National Ignition Facility and the Joint European Torus.
R. J. Dowling, J. F. Clarke, S. E. Berk
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 6 | Number 2 | September 1984 | Pages 327-334
Technical Paper | Selected papers from the Ninth International Vacuum Congress and the Fifth International Conference on Solid Surfaces (Madrid, Spain, September 26-October 1, 1983) | doi.org/10.13182/FST84-A23203
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The United States (U.S.) Government supports a national program that seeks to demonstrate the scientific and engineering feasibility of magnetic fusion. The goal of the U.S. program is to develop a reactor concept to the point where decisions on commercial development can be made. This goal focuses the U.S. program on moving from its present research and development status toward commercial development. The U.S. program is nearing completion of the scientific feasibility phase, which will demonstrate that a magnetically confined plasma can produce, on a laboratory scale, a significant amount of energy in a potentially useful form. The U.S. plan is to pursue, at a pace commensurate with available resources, the product definition phase, which will identify a potentially practical confinement concept, and the product development phase, which will develop the technical base necessary for decisions about the practical use of magnetic fusion. This paper provides an overview of the U.S. magnetic fusion energy program including goals and objectives, strategy, status, international cooperation, and budgets.