Here, we seek papers as part of a worthy collection addressing numerous aspects of the “next-generation small (fission and fusion-based) reactor challenge”.
The new design offers a simpler approach by instead using permanent magnets, whose magnetic field is generated by the internal structure of the material itself.
The key finding of this work is that conceptual designs for future fusion reactors can be generated relatively automatically, to a higher degree of fidelity
Below you will find two sets of research results, both designed to explore new ways to use nuclear fusion as a power generation source.
The Compact Advanced Tokamak (CAT) concept, developed by DIII-D, represents a compact, economical solution for fusion energy leveraging the latest plasma physics simulation codes and advanced technologies such as high-temperature superconductors. In the past few months, both the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released reports calling for aggressive development of fusion energy in the U.S. Now, scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have released a new design for a compact fusion reactor that can generate electricity and help define the technology necessary for commercial fusion power. A fusion power plant uses magnetic fields to hold a ball of current-carrying hot gas, called a plasma, to make a miniature sun that generates energy through nuclear fusion. “On the way to a fusion power plant, there are still a variety of design options to be considered,” said Professor Hartmut Zohm, a leading scientist on fusion energy development with the Max-Planck-Institute of Plasma Physics in Germany, who was not involved in the design.
# Conceptual design completed for Japan's FAST fusion demo project. The Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak project, designed to demonstrate fusion energy power generation in Japan in the 2030s, has reached its first key milestone, Starlight Engine and Kyoto Fusioneering have announced. Conceptual design completed for Japan's FAST fusion demo project. The Fusion by Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (FAST) device, to be sited in Japan, aims to generate and sustain a plasma of deuterium-tritium (D-T) reactions, demonstrating an integrated fusion energy system that combines energy conversion including electricity generation and fuel technologies. The project team said the conceptual design work involved "designing the fusion energy plant for power generation demonstration, assessing technical and engineering feasibility, clarifying the project direction, conducting safety and economic evaluations, and defining the plant's fundamental design specifications". Kiyoshi Seko, CEO of Starlight Engine Ltd and President and COO of Kyoto Fusioneering Ltd, said: "Completing the conceptual design in just one year is a result of Japan's decades of research achievement. FAST Project · Kyoto Fusioneering · Starlight Engine ·. Japan launches FAST fusion project ·.
The most important breakthrough has been in high temperature superconductors, not reactor design. There are a number of interesting newer reactor ideas.
Illustrated cross section of a traditional doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion reactor. Tokamaks, such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France, use electromagnetic fields to confine plasma and heat it to the temperatures and densities necessary to ignite fusion. Illustrated cutaway of a traditional doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion reactor. Illustrated cutaway of a traditional doughnut-shaped tokamak fusion reactor. Illustrated cutaway of the tokamak fusion reactor with particles spinning around the central solenoid. Illustrated cutaway of the tokamak fusion reactor with plasma spinning around the central solenoid. *5* • As the temperature rises, the density and energy within the plasma increase, causing particles to collide and initiate fusion. Illustrated cutaway of the tokamak fusion reactor with plasma spinning around the central solenoid. Illustrated cross section of a tokamak fusion reactor with plasma circulating around the central solenoid. All tokamaks confine the plasma using a central electric current that can make fusion reactions difficult to maintain**.