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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.D. Stambaugh, V.S. Chan, P.A. Anderson, C.B. Baxi, R.W. Callis, H.K. Chiu, C.B. Forest, R. Hong, T.K. Jensen, L.L. Lao, J.A. Leuer, M.A. Mahdavi, R.L. Miller, A. Nerem, R. Prater, P.A. Politzer, M.J. Schaffer, D.L. Sevier, T.S. Taylor, A.D. Turnbull, C.P.C. Wong
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 30 | Number 3 | December 1996 | Pages 1380-1389
Innovative Approaches to Fusion Energy | doi.org/10.13182/FST96-A11963141
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The low aspect ratio tokamak or spherical torus (ST) approach offers the two key elements needed to enable magnetic confinement fusion to make the transition from a government-funded research program to the commercial marketplace: a low cost, low power, small size market entry vehicle and a strong economy of scale in larger devices. Within the ST concept, a very small device (A = 1.4, major radius about 1 m, similar size to the DIII-D tokamak) could be built that would produce ~800 MW thermal, 250 MW net electric, and would have a gain, defined as QPLANT = (gross electric power/recirculating power), of about 2. Such a device would have all the operating systems and features of a power plant and would therefore be acceptable as a pilot plant, even though the cost of electricity would not be competitive. The ratio of fusion power to copper TF coil dissipation rises quickly with device size (like R4) and can lead to 3 GW thermal power plants with QPLANT = 4-5 but which remain a factor 3 smaller than superconducting tokamak power plants. Power plants of the scale of ITER might be able to burn the advanced fuel D-He3.