Conceptual design of Japan’s fusion DEMO reactor (JADEMO) and superconducting coil issues

Abstract

Goals of Japan’s fusion demonstration (DEMO) reactor are to demonstrate (1) steady and stable electric power generation in a power plant scale, (2) self-sufficient production of fuel (tritium), and (3) reasonable availability using a remote maintenance scheme anticipated in a commercial plant. Main design parameters of JA DEMO are a plasma major radius of 8.5 m, fusion output of 1.5-2 GW, magnetic field on the plasma axis of 5.94 T. The superconducting coil system of the reactor consists of a central solenoid (CS), 7 poloidal field (PF) coils and 16 toroidal field (TF) coils. Regarding CS and PF coils, superconducting coil technology on DEMO is basically the same as that on the world largest fusion experimental reactor called ITER. In contrast, TF coils have a technology gap on magnetic energy and the resulting stress between ITER and DEMO due to their size and magnetic field. In particular, the necessity of higher design stress is critical for TF coils, requiring the development of high strength cryogenic steels surpassing the existing ones. The fundamental design strategy to mitigate tolerances in TF coil fabrication is also presented.