Nuclear fusion: a future energy solution?

In terms of sheer scale, the energy potential of the fusion reaction is superior to all other energy sources that we know on Earth. Fusing atoms together in a controlled setting releases nearly 4 million times more energy than a chemical reaction such as the burning of coal, oil or gas. A fusion power plant capable of supplying energy to a city of 1 million people – the kind envisioned for the second half of this century – would require one small truckload of fuel to run for one year.

Reaction physics

During the fusion reaction, hydrogen nuclei collide, fuse into heavier helium atoms, and release tremendous amounts of energy in the process. Although the energetic potential of fusion has been known since the first experiments in the 1930s, confining and sustaining the reaction - important prerequisites to obtaining usable energy - have been a challenge. The most advanced technology to-date involves using magnetic forces to hold the fusion ingredients (heavy isotopes of hydrogen heated to extreme temperatures) together for long enough for fusion to take place. All around the world fusion devices operating on this principle, called tokamaks, have been successfully creating short bursts of fusion energy for decades, advancing the understanding of the process. One milestone has yet to be reached: ‘plasma energy breakeven,’ or the moment when plasmas in a fusion device produce at least as much energy as is required to produce them.

Creating a fusion device

Fusion scientists are now building the device that will do it. In the south of France, six nations plus Europe have agreed to pool their resources to build ITER, the first tokamak designed to exceed breakeven by a factor of 10, and produce 500 MW of fusion power for 50 MW of input power. Although ITER will not convert this power to electricity, it will be an important demonstration of the potential of fusion, and open the way to the design of a next step prototype fusion power plant.

ITER: worldwide co-operation

ITER is an ambitious project that will ask the most from materials, science and engineering, and international co-operation. Each of the seven ITER members: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and the US, will build a portion of the machine, and share in the financing, staffing and auditing of this mega project, evaluated at € 10 billion. Site work was completed in France this year in preparation for the construction and assembly of the ITER installation that will take place over the next nine years.

The world is faced with increasing demands for energy and the imperative of keeping polluting emissions to a low. ITER will determine whether magnetic fusion is a viable concept for the future production of large scale energy.

Author: ITER

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