blue 3 hh gope presentation
TRANSCRIPT
Worldwide Status ofFusion Electricity Developments
Dr. Howard Hornfeld
Fusion AdvocatesGeneva, Switzerland
Presentation to the Gas, Oil and Petroleum Engineering Conference November 2016 Las Vegas
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The future is electric!
What you’ll hear…
What fusion electricity isWhy we need itWhere it’s being developed When it’ll be in the grid
Q & A
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Energy and electricityElectricity is 20% of energy
Renewables are mainly electricity
Electricity growth will outstrip all other energy-delivery systems
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Why more electricity?15% of the world’s population, who have no electricity, will need it soon
Rising demand in developed countries
Increasing number of electric vehicles
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More electricityProvides unlimited fresh water supplies through desalination
Eliminates need for bio-fuels
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More electricityHospitals can rely on power, and vaccines can be refrigerated
Safe street lighting and traffic control systems
Heating or cooling for buildings and factories
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Fusion electricity
What it isand why we need it
DefinitionsFusion
Controlled reaction between nuclei of isotopes of hydrogen carried out in a very high temperature reactor and generating heat
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DefinitionsFusion electricity Electrical power on the public grid generated from a fusion reactor
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DefinitionsFusion Controlled reaction between nuclei of isotopes of hydrogen carried out in a very high temperature reactor and generating heat
Fusion electricityElectrical power on the public grid generated from a fusion reactor
Small-scale100-200 MW fusion power
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Nuclear energyFission
Uses high atomic weight materialsOperates in standard process regimesSome waste and raw material problems
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Nuclear energyFission
High atomic weight materialsStandard process regimesSome waste and raw material problems
Fusion
Low atomic weight materialsExtreme temperaturesMinimal waste and raw materials problems
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The Fusion Reaction
Reaction products = helium and a neutron, and massive energy
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Why fusion ?Clean and safe
Unlimited
Non-political
No proliferation danger
Environmentally pro-active
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FuelDeuterium and lithium
Unlimited supplies worldwide
Cheap
Low volumes (low transport cost/pollution)
No ash or solid waste removal16
Fuel (deuterium and lithium)
Unlimited supplies worldwide
Cheap and widespread
Low volumes(low transport cost/pollution)
No ash or solid waste removal
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How is Fusion Done ?Two basic systems, and a few oddballs:
Inertial confinement fusionMagnetic confinement fusion
General fusionTriAlphaLockheed Martin
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Controlling a Plasma
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Typical Tokamak
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Fuel (deuterium and lithium)
Safety, security, environmental and economic comparison with alternate electricity systems:
coaloilgasfission
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Why fusion electricity?Increasing worldwide demand for electricity
No other non-fossil fuel system can provide baseload quantities of electricity
Non-polluting − no significant waste
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Why fusion electricity?No impact on climate
(= no greenhouse gas emissions)
Unlimited raw material base
No possible runaway or meltdown reaction
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Fusion todayJETITEREastern countriesEuropeUSA
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Fusion electricity plansChinaKoreaJapanEuropeUSA
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Competitivity of fusion power
High investmentLow raw-material costsLower operating costs than nuclear Dependent on government tax policies
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Fuel considerations1 ton fusion fuel = 4 -10 million tons coal
Storage facilities minimal(main cost is for tritium)
Cheap extraction of deuterium and lithium
Low transport costs (short distances)
No cost for ash or solid waste removal
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Do we have a choice?
Q & A
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Plasma in a tokamak
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Spherical tokamak
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Conclusions – TE Ltd (UK)Much work remains to be done, but there are grounds for optimismST25s will be used to work on diagnostics, heating and current drive. Other labs are doing similar thingsST40 will demonstrate scaling on small, high field, spherical tokamaksManufacturers are rapidly improving HTS performance at temperatures and fields of interest
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Conclusions – TE Ltd (UK) (cont’d)
Joints with suitable performance have been demonstratedVarious cable designs are being developed around the worldSignificant knowledge gaps remain around HTS irradiation and magnet protectionA combination of in-house development, collaboration and a systematic approach will progressively reduce technical risk, at minimum cost and time
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