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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.
John G. Woodworth, Wayne R. Meier
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 31 | Number 3 | May 1997 | Pages 280-290
Technical Paper | ICF Target | doi.org/10.13182/FST97-A30831
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will require the ignition and burn of five to ten fusion fuel targets every second. The technology to economically mass produce high-quality precision targets at this rate is beyond the current state of the art. Techniques that are scalable to high production rates, however, have been identified for all the necessary process steps, and many have been tested in laboratory experiments or are similar to current commercial manufacturing processes. A baseline target factory conceptual design is described, and its capital and operating costs are estimated. The result is a total production cost of ∼16¢/target. At this level, target production represents ∼6% of the estimated cost of electricity from a 1-GW(electric) IFE power plant. Cost scaling relationships are presented and used to show the variation in target cost with production rate and plant power levels.