Fusion power plant availability study

Abstract

The consideration of fusion as an alternative energy source will need to demonstrate that Fusion Power Plant (FPP) design, operating and maintenance characteristics meet the electrical market requirements forecast for the second half of this century. Until now, fusion has been developed in the framework of research and development programmes following natural technological trends. To bring a greater sense of realism to commercial viability and to guarantee that technology-driven fusion development responds to the demands of the market, a conceptual study of future commercial FPPs has been performed with a Power Plant Availability (PPA) study aimed at identifying the aspects affecting the availability and generating costs of FPPs. EFET, who has also been involved in the study, can visualise it from two different points of view; that of the industry (ANSALDO, IBERTEF, SIEMENS, NNC) and that of the utilities (BELGATOM, FRAMATOME, FORTUM). The work carried out covered the following points: socio-economic forecasting; safety and licensing; operation and maintenance; waste and decommissioning; availability and reliability. The following are the most relevant findings, conclusions and recommendations for all these aspects: • Demonstrate definitively that the physical principles of nuclear fusion have been validated by means of experiments. • Establish a European Industrial Group to support the demonstration phases. • Create the financial and contracting framework required to construct these installations. Secure the necessary budgets for the European Union's 5th and 6th Research Programmes. Look for supplementary long term financing sources. • The existing Regulatory Bodies should combine to form a single Working Group with responsibility for fusion reactor safety and licensing activities, working on the harmonisation of the regulatory processes, developing FPP safety criteria and guidelines and reviewing industry standards. • To be competitive, FPPs should have high availability, preferably exceeding 80%, with very few unplanned shutdowns. To profit from economies of scale, the plants should be large (around 1600 MW). Total construction time should be less than 5 years. Standardisation is a must. • Never forget that public acceptance could be even more important than economics.