Final Report of the Committee on a Strategic Plan for U.S. Burning Plasma Research (2019) / Chapter Skim
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5 Strategic Guidance for a National Program for Burning Plasma Science and Technology
5 Strategic Guidance for a National Program for Burning Plasma Science and Technology
Pages 134-152
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From page 134... ...
• Second, the United States should start a national program of interconnected science and technology research extending beyond what will be accom plished with ITER and leading to construction of a compact fusion pilot plant at the lowest possible capital cost. Together, these two research efforts establish the scientific and technical feasibility of fusion power and advance the fusion program from its current feasibility stage along a cost-effective path to the production of electricity from fusion.
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From page 135... ...
The only existing project to create a burning plasma at the scale of a power plant is ITER, which is a major component of the U.S. fusion energy program.
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From page 136... ...
While reaching the frontier of burning plasma science will establish the fea sibility of magnetic fusion energy, the full benefit from participation in ITER will result from opportunities to develop and test burning plasma science in order to maximize the potential of a compact fusion pilot plant. Recent advances in theory and simulation validated by results from U.S.
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From page 137... ...
With the initial operation of ITER scheduled to begin within a decade and with the expectation that controlled fusion will be demonstrated in ITER, now is the right time for the United States to develop plans to benefit from its investment in burning plasma research and take leadership in the development of fusion elec tricity for the nation's future energy needs TOWARD FUSION ELECTRICITY: THE COMPACT FUSION PILOT PLANT The committee's two main recommendations address the nation's strategic interest in realizing economical fusion energy in the long term. First, as described in Chapter 3, the United States should remain an ITER partner as the most cost effective way to gain experience with a burning plasma at the scale of a power plant.
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From page 138... ...
The recommended strategy is also less costly than those proposed by other nations, which involve a single large DEMO device. This is because the goal of the compact fusion pilot plant is to incorporate science and technology innovations into a single facility, with a staged research plan, that will produce electricity from fusion at the lowest possible capital cost.
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From page 139... ...
By starting a national research program toward a compact pilot plant, critical science and technology research can be ready in time to use the knowledge learned from ITER operation to demonstrate electricity production by mid-century. 2020-2035: REMOVING THE BARRIERS TO LOW-COST FUSION DEVELOPMENT The cost of fusion electricity is driven principally by its capital cost and by how many hours the plant can run each year.
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Extending the Frontier of Burning Plasma Science The U.S. fusion program has been a key contributor to the physics basis for ITER design and operation.
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From page 141... ...
While each of these can be developed and tested in existing facilities, confidence in such solutions for future devices may require substantially increased capability in order to explore heat fluxes and their dissipation at the high levels and densi ties expected in fusion power systems. For this reason, an additional requirement of the next-step magnetic fusion research facility discussed above should be tests of advanced divertor schemes with robust power and particle handling capabilities applicable to the compact fusion pilot plant.
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From page 142... ...
c have the potential of reducing the cost of fusion energy and providing unique benefits for increasing the performance limits of fusion systems including very high current density, operation at much higher magnetic field, and the potential for improved maintenance, for example through jointed, demountable magnets. In order for the U.S.
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In addition to the research elements above, the committee views other consid erations as important guidance for the national strategic plan for fusion energy.
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FUSION SCIENCE PREDICTIVE MODELING AND EXASCALE COMPUTING Fundamental to this strategic plan is the continued role of theory, simulation, and computation in motivating innovative approaches to improving the prospects of fusion energy. This encompasses research in burning plasma physics, mate ials r science, fusion nuclear science and engineering sciences.
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ALPHA program7 that supports the national program leading toward a compact fusion pilot plant. An ongoing program promoting discovery in fusion energy science would be similar to the existing DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)
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Dedicated investment in these TEC areas for fusion systems is needed to capitalize on the rapid advances being made for a variety of non-fusion applications so that their transformative potential for fusion energy is fully realized. In addition to the Transformative Enabling Capabilities report, the committee was presented with two additional examples for promising discovery in fusion energy science.
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fusion energy research, and describes how ITER participation will inform the design of a com pact fusion pilot plant as a new element of the U.S. magnetic fusion program.
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Advancing toward a national fusion energy goal requires progress in all of the interconnected program elements needed for a low-cost demonstra tion of fusion electricity: burning plasma science, materials science, fusion nuclear science, and engineering science. The committee's response to the scenario in which the United States is not an ITER partner is based on the scenario in which the United States continues par ticipation in the ITER project.
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From page 149... ...
fusion scientists the necessary means to study burning plasma science and technology and to maintain progress toward the long-term development of commercial fusion power. SUSTAINING THE NATIONAL PROGRAM The demonstration of fusion electricity is a long-term undertaking, requiring progress at both national and international levels and sustained support.
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From page 150... ...
funding stability for the interna tional ITER project to ensure that the United States remains able to influence the developing ITER research program, to capitalize on research at ITER to help achieve U.S. fusion energy goals, to participate in obtaining important scientific results on burning plasmas from ITER, and to be an effective participant in and beneficiary of future international scientific collaborations." The first half of the committee's recommendations is continued participation in the ITER project as the nation's primary experimental burning plasma compo nent within a balanced long-term strategic plan for fusion.
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From page 151... ...
If the required engi neering and science studies begin soon, new world-class research facilities could be available to enable resolution of the critical issues needed to finalize the design and begin construction of a compact fusion pilot plant having the lowest possible capital cost. Such a program with a cost-attractive goal for the demonstration of fusion electricity would also provide important scientific opportunities for U.S.
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From page 152... ...
S . B u r n i n g P l as m a R e s e a r c h tation of its recommendations, including both continued participation in ITER and the start of a national research program for a compact pilot plant, to require an annual funding level about $200 million larger than presently enacted levels, about half required to meet ITER commitments and half needed to launch the science and technology supporting the research leading to a compact fusion pilot plant.
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