The new long-range plan report from the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee was presented at the December 2020 FESAC meeting. Image: DOE
Oak Ridge National Laboratory well-positioned for growing fusion role
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) has developed and endorsed a new long-range plan report for fusion energy and plasma science research. The report, titled Powering the Future: Fusion & Plasmas, follows a one year process of fusion research community workshops and input.
“This plan is especially exciting for Oak Ridge National Lab, as there is a strong emphasis on understanding burning plasmas and the development of necessary technologies essential to realizing fusion as an energy source,” said ORNL Fusion Energy Division Director Mickey Wade. “We are excited to see a recognition of the urgent need for increased research on fusion materials and fusion fuel breeding technology, which are areas where we are actively expanding our capabilities.”
In addition to the international ITER project and the Material Plasma Exposure Experiment (MPEX) now preparing for construction at ORNL, the report also recommends investments in other key experimental facilities. These include the Exhaust and Confinement Integration Tokamak Experiment (EXCITE) for developing the basis for compact tokamak reactors, a Fusion Prototypic Neutron Source for characterizing the impact of high-energy neutrons on fusion materials, and a Blanket Component Test Facility for improving technologies for tritium fuel breeding and processing.
The long-range plan charts a decade-long path for the U.S. as it seeks to develop fusion as a limitless and practical source of energy. Critical areas for research and development investments are prioritized to maximize impact and to provide the basis for a fusion power plant. Partnerships, whether international collaborations, public-private partnerships, or among government agencies, are noted as a strategy for success. A copy of the plan will be available at https://science.osti.gov/fes/fesac/Reports.
The report comes at an important period in fusion history. Years of public investment in research have yielded advances in understanding of high power plasmas and focused R&D on the key remaining challenges that must be resolved for economical fusion energy. The international ITER project has also spurred global and industrial interest. ITER began machine assembly this year; US ITER, managed by ORNL, is designing, fabricating and delivering a variety of essential technical systems for the facility. Private sector fusion companies have also raised approximately two billion dollars over the last decade, and public-private partnerships, such as the INFUSE program managed by ORNL with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, are linking fusion industry needs with national laboratory expertise.
“We truly are at a transformational national moment for coordinating government, university and private sector fusion R&D efforts to pursue practical, clean, economical fusion energy,” said Kathy McCarthy, ORNL Associate Laboratory Director for Fusion and Fission Energy and Science and US ITER Project Director. “ORNL is ready and eager to enable a fusion energy future through essential fusion engineering, technology development, and burning plasma research.”
The final report is available here: https://usfusionandplasmas.org/
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
