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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.
Douglas C. Wilson, Donald J. Dudziak, Glenn R. Magelssen, David S. Zuckerman, Daniel E. Driemeyer
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 13 | Number 2 | February 1988 | Pages 333-338
Technical Paper | Heavy-Ion Fusion | doi.org/10.13182/FST88-A25107
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The systems model for a commercial electric power facility produced by the Heavy-Ion Fusion System Assessment is used to study the sensitivity of electricity cost to various inertial confinement fusion target characteristics including gain, peak power, ion range, and target fabrication cost. Net electric power from the plant was fixed at 1000 MW(electric) to eliminate large effects caused by economies of scale. An improved target cost model is used and compared with earlier results. Although specific quantitative results changed, the earlier general conclusions remain valid. The system is moderately insensitive to target gain. A factor of 2.5 change in gain causes <10% change in electricity cost. Increased peak power needed to drive targets poses only a small cost risk but requires many more beamlets be transported to the target. Shortening the required ion range causes both cost and beamlet difficulties. A factor of 4 decrease in the required range at a fixed driver energy increases electricity cost by 43% and raises the number of beamlets from 34 to 330. Finally, the heavy-ion fusion system can accommodate large increases in target costs. While moderate target gain is required, to address the other major uncertainties target design should concentrate on understanding requirements for ion range and peak driver power.