Accession of Lithuanian energy institute to nuclear fusion researches

Abstract

Nowadays there is extremely appreciable increasing energy demand. The main public problem is to find new ways to cover energy needs, and also do not forget influence of climate change and declining supplies of fossil fuels by tackling this problem. Future energy stations must be clean, carbon-free and be able to generate large amounts of qualitative energy. Nuclear fusion energy stations have a number of advantages: unlimited fuel, no CO2 and no air pollution, an avoidance of major accidents, no radioactive “ash” and no long-lived radioactive waste, competitive electricity generation cost and other. Nuclear fusion energy stations have many advantages, but they also have some disadvantages as well. First of all, there is a little explored range and, therefore, there is a need for more accurate researches and new development in nuclear fusion area. The gas of hydrogen — deuterium and tritium is heated to very high temperature (~ 108 K) and at this temperature plasma must be maintained as long as possible in nuclear fusion reaction. These physical and technical problems are very complicated, and in order to achieve efficient use of energy from nuclear fusion reaction these issues should be solved. Scientists from Lithuanian energy institute (LEI) also participate in the international fusion projects. Lithuanian energy institute is one of the members in the European fusion project (Eurofusion) from 2004. LEI research areas are most of all related to the investigation of Wendelstein 7-X experimental fusion, stellarator type, and device. LEI scientists perform safety assessment of the fusion facilities in the field of thermal-hydraulics, neutron transport analysis and system analysis.