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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
In transition: Commercializing fusion power
Commercial fusion power is closer than ever. There are now around 30 U.S. fusion companies, several of which claim to be on track to connect to the grid as early as the 2030s.
Tokamak and laser inertial confinement approaches benefit from decades of research at facilities such as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ITER, with alternative concepts including stellarator, magnetic mirror, and Z-pinch confinement also making notable progress as private and government funding for fusion increases.
Kiyonobu Yamashita, Kazumi Tokuhara, Nozomu Fujimoto
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 126 | Number 1 | May 1997 | Pages 94-100
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/NSE97-A24460
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A concept for a new reactor system is developed where weapons-grade plutonium can be made worthless for weapons use. It is a pebble bed-type high-temperature gas-cooled reactor that uses plutonium burner ball and thorium breeder ball fuels. The residual amount of 239Pu in spent plutonium balls becomes <1% of the initial loading. The power coefficient is made negative by reducing the parasitic neutron absorption reaction rate of l35Xe.