Abstract
Fusion power could be one of very few sustainable options to replace fossil fuels as the world's primary energy source. Fusion offers the potential of predictable, safe power with no carbon emissions and fuel sources lasting for millions of years. However, it is notoriously difficult to achieve in a controlled, steady-state fashion. The most promising path is via magnetic confinement in a device called a tokamak. A magnetic confinement fusion (MCF) power plant requires many different science, technology and engineering challenges to be met simultaneously. This requires an integrated approach from the outset; advances are needed in individual areas but these only bring fusion electricity closer if the other challenges are resolved in harmony. The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has developed a wide range of skills to address many of the challenges and hosts the JET device, presently the only MCF facility capable of operating with both the fusion fuels, deuterium and tritium. Recently, several major new UKAEA facilities have been funded and some have started operation, notably a new spherical tokamak (MAST Upgrade), a major robotics facility (RACE), and a materials research facility (MRF). Most recently, work has started on Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technology (H3AT) for tritium technology and a group of Fusion Technology Facilities.This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Fusion energy using tokamaks: can development be accelerated?’
Highlights
Fusion power could be one of a very few sustainable options to replace fossil fuels as the world’s primary energy source
The alpha-particles provide most of the heating and the most promising confinement path is via magnetic confinement fusion (MCF), the JET [1] and ITER [2] ‘tokamaks’1 being the pre-eminent examples of this approach
Predictions of plasma performance in ITER are mainly based on models developed from a large database of tokamak results in deuterium plasmas, studied in devices with carbon plasmafacing components and externally supplied heating, but these cannot yet capture all aspects of the conditions anticipated in ITER, e.g. ITER’s mixture of high and low Z wall materials change the boundary conditions on the core plasma; the transport of heat and particles changes with the fuel isotope (i.e. D and T); alpha-particle heating is determined nonlinearly by the temperature and pressure profiles; fast alpha-particles can, on the one hand, excite plasma instabilities and, on the other hand, can reduce turbulent transport
Summary
Fusion power could be one of a very few sustainable options to replace fossil fuels as the world’s primary energy source. Fusion is low in land-use, has high energy yield and suitably designed power plants can have very little long-lived radioactive waste and no proliferation issues. It is a highly attractive energy source. UKAEA contributes in many areas of science and technology, has growing ties with many universities and increasingly acts as a link to industry, which will be a major contributor and stakeholder in the future. It acts as the hub of UK fusion research and a gateway to the wider communities.
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