Role of Fusion Energy in a Sustainable Global Energy Strategy

Sheffield, J

Title: Role of Fusion Energy in a Sustainable Global Energy Strategy

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Abstract

Fusion can play an important role in sustainable global energy because it has an available and unlimited fuel supply and location not restricted by climate or geography. Further, it emits no greenhouse gases. It has no potential for large energy releases in an accident, and no need for more than about 100 years retention for radioactive waste disposal. Substantial progress in the realization of fusion energy has been made during the past 20 years of research. It is now possible to produce significant amounts of energy from controlled deuterium and tritium (DT) reactions in the laboratory. This has led to a growing confidence in our ability to produce burning plasmas with significant energy gain in the next generation of fusion experiments. As success in fusion facilities has underpinned the scientific feasibility of fusion, the high cost of next-step fusion facilities has led to a shift in the focus of international fusion research towards a lower cost development path and an attractive end product. The increasing data base from fusion research allows conceptual fusion power plant studies, of both magnetic and inertial confinement approaches to fusion, to translate commercial requirements into the design features that must be met if fusion ismore »« less

Authors:: Sheffield, J

Publication Date:: 2001-03-07

Research Org.:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:: US Department of Energy (US)

OSTI Identifier:: 776207

Report Number(s):: P01-110201
TRN: US0101365

DOE Contract Number:: AC05-96OR22464

Resource Type:: Conference

Resource Relation:: Conference: World Energy Congress, No conference location supplied, No conference dates supplied; Other Information: PBD: 7 Mar 2001

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY; INERTIAL CONFINEMENT; THERMONUCLEAR POWER PLANTS; THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS; GLOBAL ASPECTS; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; ENERGY SOURCE DEVELOPMENT; RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT; MAGNETIC CONFINEMENT; TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT; SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

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                    Sheffield, J. Role of Fusion Energy in a Sustainable Global Energy Strategy.  United States: N. p., 2001. 
        Web.

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                    Sheffield, J. Role of Fusion Energy in a Sustainable Global Energy Strategy.  United States.

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                    Sheffield, J. 2001.  
        "Role of Fusion Energy in a Sustainable Global Energy Strategy".  United States.  https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/776207.

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@article{osti_776207,

  title        = {Role of Fusion Energy in a Sustainable Global Energy Strategy},

  author       = {Sheffield, J},

  abstractNote = {Fusion can play an important role in sustainable global energy because it has an available and unlimited fuel supply and location not restricted by climate or geography. Further, it emits no greenhouse gases. It has no potential for large energy releases in an accident, and no need for more than about 100 years retention for radioactive waste disposal. Substantial progress in the realization of fusion energy has been made during the past 20 years of research. It is now possible to produce significant amounts of energy from controlled deuterium and tritium (DT) reactions in the laboratory. This has led to a growing confidence in our ability to produce burning plasmas with significant energy gain in the next generation of fusion experiments. As success in fusion facilities has underpinned the scientific feasibility of fusion, the high cost of next-step fusion facilities has led to a shift in the focus of international fusion research towards a lower cost development path and an attractive end product. The increasing data base from fusion research allows conceptual fusion power plant studies, of both magnetic and inertial confinement approaches to fusion, to translate commercial requirements into the design features that must be met if fusion is to play a role in the world's energy mix; and identify key R and D items; and benchmark progress in fusion energy development. This paper addresses the question, ''Is mankind closer or farther away from controlled fusion than a few decades ago?'' We review the tremendous scientific progress during the last 10 years. We use the detailed engineering design activities of burning plasma experiments as well as conceptual fusion power plant studies to describe our visions of attractive fusion power plants. We use these studies to compare technical requirements of an attractive fusion system with present achievements and to identify remaining technical challenges for fusion. We discuss scenarios for fusion energy deployment in the energy market.},

  doi          = {},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/776207},
  journal      = {},
number       = ,

  volume       = ,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {2001},

  month        = {3}

}

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