The NIF high-energy laser beams converge on a target in the center of the target chamber. Succeeding in fusion ignition would be a major step forward in the search for safe, carbon-free fusion energy. Credit: DOE
An influential Department of Energy (DOE) advisory committee recommended that the nation move aggressively toward the implementation of fusion energy, including investment in technology and equipment to support one of the LLNL’s core national ignition (NIF) missions – laying the groundwork for development of inertial fusion energy (IFE).
The report, The power of the future: fusion and plasma, was issued in December by the Advisory Committee on Fusion Energy Science (FESAC). It was quickly followed by a February report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) calling for aggressive action to build a pilot US fusion power plant in 2035.
The two-year FESAC report provides a ten-year vision for US fusion energy, and forge science within the DOE Office of Science Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program. NIF & PS physicist Tammy Ma, a member of FESAC and the reporting subcommittee, said LLNL was a major participant in the plasma physics community planning process that laid the groundwork for the report’s 10-year strategic plan.
Both FESAC and NASEM reports focus on the development of magnetic fusion energy (MFE) technology, exemplified by the ITER experiment in France; The United States is one of the 35 nations participating in ITER, which is more than 70% and aims for the first plasma operations in 2025.
However, the reports acknowledge the need to pursue other government and private merger technologies simultaneously, including IFE, and the FESAC report notes the NIF’s “enormous progress” in ignition. Both reports call for partnerships with federal, international and private investors and highlight opportunities for growth in fusion and plasma research, which the NIF is closely monitoring (see “10-Year Report Highlights NIF’s contributions to plasma science”).
“FES has historically funded MFE research in the United States, previously funded IFE, and supported academic research in high-energy-density physics in the United States,” said Ma. “While the total funding that LLNL receives each year from the FES is small compared to what we receive from the NNSA (National Nuclear Safety Administration), the path that the FES charts have always had a significant influence on the research trajectory fusion and plasma in the laboratory.
“This report now sets out a strong and coordinated plan for fusion energy and plasma science for the next 10 years in the United States, and LLNL has an important role to play,” she said.
The FESAC report includes recommendations to the EFF and priorities for a research and technological development portfolio under three budget scenarios: steady, modest (2%) and unlimited growth.
Relevant points and recommendations in the report for LLNL activity include:
- Restart an IFE program, even in the no-increase budget scenario.
- Continue robust funding for the High Energy Density Laboratory Plasma (HEDLP) program, which is co-sponsored with the NNSA.
- Complete the design and construction of the Matter in extreme conditions
- (MEC) upgrade to SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which LLNL supports.
- Coordinates a high-intensity laser research initiative (FES in collaboration with other federal agencies).
- Follow the development of a multi-petawatt laser facility (quadrillion watts) and a high-intensity, high-repetition laser facility in the United States, similar to the Petawatt high-repetition laser system (HAPLS), designed and developed by NIF and PS Advanced Photon Technology Program; HAPLS was delivered to the line facility for extreme light infrastructure in the Czech Republic in June 2017.
- Firmly support LaserNetUS, with aggressive upgrades if budgets allow; LLNLs Jupiter Laser Facility is a member of LaserNetUS, an effort to restore high-intensity laser research in the US
- Pursue a pilot fusion factory in the US by 2040.
- Strongly pursue alternative and innovative fusion concepts.
- Build and design a Z-pinch type pulsed power installation, preferably in partnership with other agencies; LLNL is currently developing a series of advanced diagnostics for Machine Z at Sandia National Laboratories.
- Provide support for a robust public-private partnership program.
“Even in the constant budget scenario,” Ma said, “arrangements are being made to ensure that these activities are somehow supported. New facilities cannot be built, but it is recommended to continue the activities of preconceptual design and technology development. ”
DOE-sponsored NASEM report, Bringing Fusion to the US network, describes the scientific and technical innovations needed for fusion to play a role in the timely transition to a low-carbon economy by 2050. The NASEM plan envisages the production of a pilot plant by 2028 and the addition of fusion energy to electricity. grid in the time interval 2035-2040.
Virtually inexhaustible fusion energy could provide a clean, carbon-free source of electricity for the US grid, the report said, playing a key role as the nation decarbonises its electricity generation infrastructure. Fusion uses abundant hydrogen fuels and does not create long-lasting or high-level radioactive waste. It is inherently safe and ideally complements other renewable energy sources.