FUSION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

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FUSION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

• Chris Llewellyn Smith
• Director UKAEA CulhamChairman Consultative
  Committee for Euratom on Fusion

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Europe has a single/integrated fusion programme
based in many labs, and steered/coordinated by
EURATOM and EFDA (European Fusion Development
Agreement), and a range of excellent fusion
facilities
Tokamaks JET ASDEX-U MAST (ST) Torre
Supra TEXTOR TCV FTU Compass D (? Prague)
Stellarators W7X (under construction) test
facilities TJ2
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Introduction to the official description of the
Euratom Fusion Programme 2007-11 (more specific
details later)

• Fusion has the potential to make a major
  contribution to the realisation of a sustainable
  and secure energy supply for the EU
• ITER lies at the heart of the present EU
  strategy it must be accompanied by a strong and
  focused European RD programme to prepare for
  ITER and to develop the technologies and
  knowledge base needed during its operation and
  beyond.
• Broader Approach projects (340M from Japan
  340M from
• Europe over ten years) to accelerate the
  development of fusion energy.
• The rapid development of fusion also requires a
  wide industrial base to ensure a timely
  deployment of fusion energy.
• Overall objective of the programme
• To develop the knowledge base for, and to realise
  ITER as the major step towards, the creation of
  prototype reactors for power stations that are
  safe, sustainable, environmentally responsible,
  and economically viable.

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Funding

• Work in laboratories approx. 75 National 25
  EURATOM
• JET Operations 75 EURATOM 12.5 EURATOM
  Members ( size of national programmes) 12.5
  UK
• JET enhancements EURATOM
• ITER Construction 45.5 of total
  (EURATOM/France 4/1)
• Broader Approach France, Italy, Spain, Germany,
  Switzerland
• EFDA collective use of JET coordination of
  physics emerging technologies training
• European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the
  Development of Fusion Energy ITER contributions
  (RD was previously under EFDA) Broader
  approach DEMO technology
• Euratom funding for 2007- 2011 1947M
  (including 1 billion for ITER construction)
• National funding in last few years has been
  300M /year

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Broader ApproachIFMIF EVEDA, JT60-SA,
International Fusion Energy Research Centre
(Super computer, DEMO studies,)

• EURATOM Programme
• Specific Activities in the 2007-11
• The realisation of ITER
• RD in preparation of ITER operation.
• assessment of specific key technologies for ITER
  operation through the completion and exploitation
  of the JET Enhancements (first wall, heating
  systems, diagnostics)
• exploration of ITER operating scenarios by means
  of targeted experiments on JET and other
  facilities, and coordinated modelling activities.
• .

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JET is collectively used by EFDA Associates
More than 300 scientists from all over Europe
worked on JET during the 2006-2007 Campaigns
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JET ITER-like wall experiment

• 700m2 Beryllium first wall
• low Z
• Oxygen getter
• Optimise plasma performance
• But large erosion melting

ITER

• 100m2 Tungsten
• Low erosion
• high melting T
• Negligible T retention
• Optimise lifetime T- retention
• But high Z melting

W
JET

• 50 m2 Graphite CFC
• Lowish Z
• No melting in transients
• Superior heat shock behaviour
• Optimise heat flux resistance
• But large erosion T retention

CFC
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Specific EURATOM Activities 2007-11 (continued)

• RD in preparation of ITER operation.
  (continued)
• At an early stage of the Framework Programme, a
  review will be carried out of the facilities
  examining the possibility of phasing out existing
  facilities, and considering the need for new
  devices in parallel to ITER exploitation. The
  review will be used as a basis for the possible
  support of new or upgraded devices .
• Technology activities in preparation of DEMO.
• RD activities for the longer term .
• improved concepts for magnetic confinement
  schemes
• an experimental fusion physics programme
  aimed at the optimisation of power station
  design
• theory and further modelling with the
  ultimate aim of a comprehensive understanding of
  reactor-grade fusion plasmas
• studies of the sociological aspects and
  economics of fusion power generation
• Human resources, education and training

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Reinforcing and Accelerating the Path to DEMO

• I was recently asked to convene a group to
  provide input to the European Commissions
  proposed Strategic Energy Technology Plan. The
  following is my personal summary of the key input
  made by the group, whose members are
• C Llewellyn Smith1, E Bogusch2, M Gaube3,
• F Gnesotto4, G Marbach 5, J Pamela6, M Q Tran7,
• H Zohm8
• all participating as individuals, not as
  representatives of their parent organisations
• 1 UKAEA, 2 AREVA NP, 3 Tractebel
  Engineering/SUEZ, 4 RFX Padua, 5 CEA, 6 EFDA, 7
  EPFL Lausanne, 8 IPP Garching

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My personal summary of our input

• The EU has an excellent fusion RD programme,
  based on a sound plan designed to lead
  systematically to demonstration of electricity
  production by fusion in 30 years (assuming no
  political delays and no major adverse surprises).
  We propose that
• The plan should be strengthened by additional
  investment in technology physics, and perhaps
  also the construction of a European satellite
  tokamak and/or a Component Test Facility, to
  reduce the risk of delays, and bring forward the
  subsequent deployment of reliable fusion power on
  a large scale.
• As soon as resources (money manpower) allow,
  the EU should set up a DEMO design team with
  substantial industrial involvement. The design
  would guide the present RD plan and the ITER
  programme. The team should consider whether to
  move directly to a new paradigm of construction
  of an early relatively low performance
  DEMOnstrator Power Plant without waiting for
  (full) results from ITER and IFMIF.
• The group should also evaluate the potential of
  a CTF, and if it seems desirable design a CTF.

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A possible early DEMO (EDEMO) What? Why?

• The canonical DEMO which would follow ITER and
  IFMIF is supposed to demonstrate electricity
  production, with performance (plasma,
  availability, materials, cost/kW-hr) close to
  that required for a commercial fusion power
  station.
• We suggest considering the less ambitious goal
  of demonstrating electricity production as soon
  as possible with plasma performance ITER and
  known materials (ferritic steel) in a device that
  might initially be pulsed ( 10 hours). Such a
  device could (assuming design and a vigorous RD
  programme start next year) demonstrate
  electricity production in 20 years
• We believe that, building on results from ITER,
  IFMIF, JT60-SA, FDF,EDEMO could be followed by
  high performance commercial fusion power
  stations without an intermediate step

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• We think early/major involvement of industry is
  needed to bring a stronger culture of design for
  buildabilty, operability, reliability and
  maintainability into fusion
• The lesson of fission is that availability is
  more important than any other parameter (except
  the discount rate), and studies of fusion power
  costs suggest that the same will be true of
  fusion
• Currently we are developing (or planning to
  develop)
• Plasma physics at existing devices, ITER,
  JT-60-SA,
• Materials in parallel at IFMIF
• Technology/reliability in a just in time/just
  enough manner for ITER
• Designing/Building EDEMO (with industry) would
  put us on a parallel track in attacking all
  three sets of problems

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CONCLUDING REMARKS

• Europe has an excellent fusion programme, but
• It could/should be strengthened.
• My group thinks we should bring industry into a
  large (E)DEMO design team, as soon as possible,
  and consider building a EDEMO. Whether EDEMO
  would be justified will require a lot of detailed
  work and debate.
• Note the presentation of the argument is my
  responsibility, our conclusions have not yet been
  discussed outside the group, and are not official
  EU policy

The fact that we can talk of demonstrating
electricity production by fusion in 30 (perhaps
20) years rests on the major progress made in
recent decades, to which General Atomics has been
an outstanding contributor