Fusion is the Future Allan Offenberger Professor Emeritus
Fusion is the Future Allan Offenberger, Professor Emeritus and President, Alberta/Canada Fusion Technology Alliance Presentation to Economic Developers Alberta, March 2018
Fusion – “Star” Energy Fusion of hydrogen nuclei - the source of energy in our sun and all stars – is the “choice of nature” & is the “greenest” Fusion energy will become important; potentially by 2030’s
Fusion & Fission Are Very Different! Fission of heavy elements n n Energy + radioactive daughter nuclei Fusion of light elements D= =T Energy + non-radioactive daughter nuclei
Fusion Will Become a Reality • Technical demonstration by 2030’s Economic Impact & Opportunity • Economic value of spinoffs will exceed that of energy (electricity alone, worth $100’s of trillions) Energy & Environment • Compelling case for fusion: virtually unlimited & the greenest energy source
Why is Fusion Energy Needed?
Why is Fusion Energy Important? • Increasingly, electricity is energy currency: (>40 TW by 2100) • Fusion is one of 3 sustainable, non-carbon energy solutions for central power plants – major economic impact – fission (sustainable only with fuel breeding, leaves waste) – fusion (sustainable, primary energy source, electricity/heat/H 2) – renewables (sustainable, secondary energy source) • Fusion applications – on demand, base-load electric power generation – heat for thermal/chemical processing, oilsands, etc. – production of hydrogen/synthetic fuels – desalination of sea-water – clean-up fission waste (transmutation of radioactive nuclides)
Why is Fusion Energy Desirable? • Virtually inexhaustible fuel supply (Deuterium in water and Lithium on land sea to breed Tritium) – D+T n + He + energy • No GHG or air pollution (He 4 is the only “ash”) • No long-lived radioactive products as for fission ; no afterheat • No risk of nuclear accident (no public evacuation in vicinity of plant) • Fusion has highest energy density of all fuel sources • Fusion has best energy payback ratio (EPR) & life cycle assessment (LCA – tonnes CO 2/Gwhe) of all sources (solar, wind, fission)
Life Cycle Assessment of Sources
per filled with coal – 10 -20 min fuel ed with fusion targets – 7 years fuel Fuel/Waste Processing Comparison Daily fuel consumption & waste production for 1 GWe plant Fuel Coal plant ~ 10, 000 T Fission plant (U) ~77 kg Waste ~ 30, 000 T CO 2 ~77 kg ~ 600 T SO 2 ~ 40 T NOx ~ 600 T fly ash Fusion plant (D, T) ~ 0. 27 kg D ~ 0. 82 kg Li 6 (0. 41 kg T) ~ 1. 09 kg He (“ash”) (advantage fusion) Source-General Atom
Why is Fusion Difficult? • Need high temperature for ignition: Tign 100 million deg C • Need confinement for net energy out: n > 2 x 1020 m-3 sec • Burning occurs when heating is self-sustained (by helium from fusion) • Two confinement approaches: (i) magnetic (MFE); (ii) inertial (IFE) MFE – ignition requires ohmic & auxiliary heating IFE – ignition requires driver beams to compress & heat target Fuel Burn Plus variants of magnetic/inertial confinement
IFE – Some Approaches Direct Drive Fuel Pellet Indirect Drive New Concepts - Separate Ignition Pulse (Fast Ignition)
MFE & IFE – Global Initiative Mission: Demonstrate the feasibility of MFE Mission: Demonstrate IFE ignition Partnership: Seven signatories jointly responsible for construction and operation of ITER Partnership: International collaboration
Progress in Magnetic Fusion Energy Moore’s Law for MFE Development Progress motivates next step to fusion power - ITER
ITER Facility for MFE ITER – 1, 000 m 3 P = 500 MW; Q=10 =400 sec JET – 100 m 3 P = 16 MW; Q=0. 65
SPARC – Fast Track to MFE MIT - Commonwealth Fusion Systems Collaboration
National Ignition Facility for IFE Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Advanced solid state lasers will reduce the footprint > 10 times
MFE & IFE – Progress MFE and IFE near to demonstrating ignition 1 ke. V ≈ 10, 000 deg C
Laser Inertial Fusion Engine
Laser Inertial. Job Fusion Energy – LIFE Creation Fusion energy impact sustainable clean power; creating new industries
IFE – Driver of Innovation - Spinoffs – Canada could benefit economically from overarching technology driver – knowledge economy (plus sustainable, clean energy) • • • High power lasers (diverse applications) Precision optics and opto-electronics Photonics (superseding electronics) Sensors, instrumentation Robotics (remote handling, line replacement modules) Nanotechnology (lasers, optics, targets, chamber materials) Computer modeling (control, data, analysis, etc) Particle beam production & acceleration (medical applications) High energy density physics (laboratory astrophysics) Systems engineering (design, construction, IP) Additive manufacturing
Alberta/Canada Initiatives • Univ of Alberta – recruiting 4 new faculty in laser fusion • Provincial – Alberta/Canada Fusion Technology Alliance formed – Alliance “Capacity Building” proposal prepared • National – Fusion 2030 Roadmap for Canada – academic & industry consortium (BC, AB, SK, ON, QC) – submission to Innovation & Science Canada – it too, emphasizes “Capacity Building” initially • Objective – capability for participation in demo power plant – HQP and technology – build world’s first IFE demo plant in Alberta?
Summary & Opportunity • Fusion is coming & will be transformative – a global win! – fusion is embedded in energy policy of Asia and Europe – fusion will impact energy/environment/economy worldwide • Canada is the only OECD country without a fusion energy program – Alberta can change this & provide Canadian leadership • Alberta has an image opportunity – to position us as an energy leader (bridging to a low carbon future - fusion & renewables) • Position Canada for fusion future – leverage global investment – prepare for world’s first IFE demo plant ~2030’s (in Alberta? ) – generate whole new industries & employment
Alberta/Canada Fusion Technology Alliance • Representatives from academia, utilities, industry, municipalities, private individuals & provincial government (open to public membership) • Prepared “Capacity Building” proposal for Alberta/Canada • Alberta non-profit society - advocate for fusion energy – Fusion 2030 national roadmap • Stimulated & participated in high level fusion study for Alberta electricity/oilsands applications (2012 report) • Outreach activities to educate public, industry, government
- Slides: 24