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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.
Tetsuya Uchimoto, Kenzo Miya
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 36 | Number 1 | July 1999 | Pages 92-103
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST99-A95
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Fusion plasma engineers have made remarkable progress in designing a tokamak type of experimental reactor, as evidenced by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which produces fusion energy of 1.5 GW(thermal) for 1000 s at least. However, the ITER design is more expensive and requires more advanced technology than earlier machines. With these concerns in mind, extending design options by using a high-temperature superconductor (HTSC) to improve plasma positional instability by placing HTSC ring coils inside the vacuum vessel would be desirable. Here, improving the plasma instability with HTSC coils is discussed, and a possible design of a smaller machine using the coils based on supporting experiments with HTSC tapes is given.