Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA Fusion Program

Nehl, C. L.; Umstattd, R. J.; Regan, W. R.; Hsu, Scott C.; McGrath, P. B.

doi:10.1007/s10894-019-00226-4

Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA Fusion Program

Journal Article · Tue Oct 08 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Fusion Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10894-019-00226-4· OSTI ID:1572943

Nehl, C. L. ^[1]; Umstattd, R. J. ^[2]; Regan, W. R. ^[3]; ^[4]; McGrath, P. B. ^[5]

Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA (United States); Booz Allen Hamilton
U. S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C. (United States); Fusion Industry Assoc., Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
U. S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C. (United States); X, the Moonshot Factory, Mountain View, CA (United States)
Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
U. S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C. (United States)

This paper provides a retrospective of the ALPHA (Accelerating Low-cost Plasma Heating and Assembly) fusion program of the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) of the U.S. Department of Energy. ALPHA’s objective was to catalyze research and development efforts to enable substantially lower-cost pathways to economical fusion power. To do this in a targeted, focused program, ALPHA focused on advancing the science and technology of pulsed, intermediate-density fusion approaches, including magneto-inertial fusion and Z-pinch variants, that have the potential to scale to commercially viable fusion power plants. Here, the paper includes a discussion of the origins and framing of the ALPHA program, a summary of project status and outcomes, a description of associated technology-transition activities, and thoughts on a potential follow-on ARPA-E fusion program.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Booz Allen Hamilton, McLean, VA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89703019CAR000004

OSTI ID:: 1572943

Journal Information:: Journal of Fusion Energy, Journal Name: Journal of Fusion Energy Journal Issue: 5-6 Vol. 38; ISSN 0164-0313

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
Fusion commercialization
Fusion driver technology
Fusion energy
Magneto-inertial fusion
Z-pinch

Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA Fusion Program

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