Dr Ian FalconerDr Ian Falconer

School of Physics, University of SydneySchool of Physics, University of Sydney

Some of the slides shown in this presentation were provided by:

Dr Joe Khachan, University of Sydney

Professor John O’Connor, University of Newcastle

I gratefully acknowledge their permission to use these slides

Fusion:

our energy future?

FUSION

• The energy that drives the stars

• Can it also be harnessed on earth to provide the energy our society needs?

• The world has real energy problems (And fusion energy MUST be a big part of the solution)

• What is fusion?

• How do we harness fusion energy?

Why fusion?

And what IS fusion?

The world is running out of (cheap) energy - i.e. fossil fuels

and CO2 from fossil fuels is a greenhouse gas

For these reasons, we URGENTLY need a energy source to replace fossil fuels

(and it must be “portable” - like petrol – so it can be used in cars and trucks)

The world has real energy problems

• We are fast running out of oil (and natural gas)

• Burning of fossil fuels generates carbon dioxide (CO2) For every tonne of oil or coal used for generating energy, around THREE tonnes of CO2 are generated

• Per capita energy consumption increases as nations become wealthier Think about India and China

The case for fusion energy : standard of living

Growth of Australia’s Primary energy consumption and GDP

The case for fusion energy : standard of living

The case for fusion energy : standard of living

How long will it last?How long will it last?

Oil ~50-100 years

Natural gas ~60-100 years

Nuclear fission energy (U235 burners) 50 to ~100 years

Nuclear fission energy (breeder reactors)

Thousands of years

Solar, wind, tidal energy Renewable

Fusion energy Millenia

• We have only limited oil and natural gas resources

Not only do these fuels generate CO2, but are a valuable feedstock for the chemical industry

• The combustion of coal must necessarily generate the greenhouse gas CO2

• Nuclear energy is another limited resource, and waste disposal and proliferation are problematic – at least politically

• The “renewables” are intermittent resources, which require extensive – and expensive - energy storage capacity if the are to provide energy “on tap”

Fusion energy MUST be part of the solutionFusion energy MUST be part of the solution

What is fusion?

Fusion energy powers the SunFusion energy powers the Sun

Chemically these isotopes are the same, but the deuterium and tritium store considerable energy in their nuclei – this is the energy that holds the nuclei together

• The release of the energy stored in the nuclei of “heavy hydrogen” atoms - deuterium and tritium Hydrogen: nucleus consists of 1 proton Deuterium: nucleus consists of 1 proton and 1 neutron Tritium: nucleus consists of 1 proton and 2 neutrons

What is fusion? What is fusion?

The Most Promising Fusion Reaction

D-D Fusion Reaction

Proton

Neutron

Where do the fuels come from?

Deuterium is present in all “natural” hydrogen. There is 1 atom of deuterium for every 6,000 atoms of hydrogen. Water is thus an abundant source of deuterium

Tritium also occurs naturally, but in a fusion reactor will be created by bombarding a blanket of lithium surrounding the core of the reactor

Lithium is also abundant in nature: Australia has 60% of the world’s proven lithium reserves

“Breeding” tritium

Lithium + neutron → Tritium + Helium + ENERGY

Liquid lithium will be used as a coolant in fusion reactors. It will absorb the energy of the neutrons, and at the same time “breed” tritium and produce more energy

How do we harness fusion energy?

How do we harness fusion energy?

• Bang a deuterium nucleus and a tritium nucleus HARD together so they “fuse”

• A mixture of deuterium and tritium gases must be heated to a very high temperature if the nuclei are to “fuse” – about 100 million degrees! Under these conditions all the atoms are ionized and form a PLASMA

• These high temperatures can only be achieved if the gases are contained in a “bottle” constructed from a really strong magnetic field

• And a high density of colliding nuclei is required if we are to get more fusion energy from the reactor than we put into it

Magnetic Confinement

Toroidal field produces greater confinement

Tokamak confinement

Inside a TOKAMAK

Tokamak Operating

Q = Pout /Pin ~1

• “Breakeven” regime :

Eg. Joint European Tokamak : 1983 -

• “Ignition” regime, fully self-sustained : Power Plant.

• “Burning” regime : plasma dominantly self-heated by fusion born alpha’s

1997 : Q=0.7, 16.1MW fusion

Progress in magnetically confined fusion

ITER

ITER – “the way”International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

An international project to produce a prototype fusion reactor

ITER partners

• European Union

• Japan

• China

• Russian Federation

• USA

• Korea

• India

• (and possibly Brazil – and Canada, Mexico and Kazakhstan)

The ITER project

• Fusion power = 500MW• Power Gain > 10• Temperature ~ 80 million C

Construction cost $10 billion, 10 year operation $6 billionFiscally, world’s largest science experiment

Cadarache, France

•Consortium of 7 nations

ITER

Person

ITER – the next generation tokamakDesign completed – construction has just commenced

Aims of the ITER project• Produce and study inductively-driven, burning plasma at

Q =Pout/Pin 10 (400-500 MW) for an “extended” time, ~ 400 s

• Produce and study burning plasma with non-inductive drive Q 5

• Integrate essential fusion reactor technologies: superconducting magnets, high heat flux components, remote handling

• Test reactor components: eg tritium breeding module concepts (neutron power load > 0.5 MW m-2, fluence > 0.3 MW year m-2).

Fusion is part of our Energy Future

But ….. When?

2016 First plasma

2020 First DT “burn”

2021 Q = 10

2024 Construction of DEMO to commence

2033 Operation of DEMO to commence

2045 Construction of power plant to commence

2055? Power plants operates!!!

NOW ASSEMBLY STARTS FIRST PLASMA

Source: Accelerated development of fusion power. I. Cook et al. 2005

2005 20502020

ITER

today’s experiments

materials testing facility (IFMIF)

demonstration power-plant (DEMO)

commercial power-plants

R &D on alternative concepts and advanced materials

2010 2015 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045

Beyond ITER…

Comparison to CPU transistors

The pros and cons of fusion energyThe pros and cons of fusion energy

PRO

• “Unlimited” fuel supply

• Little waste produced

CON

• Relatively expensive (High construction and maintenance costs)

• Structure highly radioactive – for a short time

0.0

01 $

/ kW

hr

internal costs: costs of constructing, fuelling, operating, and disposing of power stations

external costs: “estimated” impact costs to the environment, public and worker health,

Prospects for fusion electricity, I. Cook et al. Fus. Eng. & Des. 63-34, pp25-33, 2002

The case for fusion energy : fusion economics

Fusion: a safe, relatively inexpensive source of energy for which we have an inexhaustible supply of fuel

ITER is – undoubtedly – “the way”

Why isn’t Australia – pioneers in the field of fusion physics -

involved in the ITER project??

THE END

LHC: the Large Hadron Collider

7 TeV = 7,000,000,000,000 eV