[cdn-nucl-l] Snowmass Fusion Summer Study Press Release

["Adam McLean" <adam.mclean@utoronto.ca>]

Posted on the Snowmass Fusion Conference web site on July 19, 2002 at:
http://web.gat.com/snowmass/

Adam

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2002 Fusion Summer Study Press Release
Snowmass Village, CO.
July 19, 2002
For Immediate Release

Fusion energy shows great promise to contribute to securing the energy
future of
humanity. The science that underlies this quest is at the frontier of
the physics of
complex systems and provides the basis for understanding the behavior of
high
temperature plasma.

Today 280 leading scientists from the U.S. and international fusion
community
concluded a two-week forum assessing the major next steps in fusion
energy science
research. The development of practical fusion power is one of the
greatest scientific
and technical challenges ever attempted. The 2002 Fusion Summer Study,
held in the
Rocky Mountain's Snowmass Village, offered opportunities for lively
debate and
careful scientific analysis of proposed experiments that would
accelerate scientific
understanding of fusion plasmas and technologies. The conclusions
reported today
provide critical input to the long range planning activities undertaken
by the U.S.
Department of Energy and called for by energy legislation recently
passed by the
U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. The results of the 2002
Fusion
Summer Study will be used by the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory
Committee to formulate a strategy to go forward with burning plasmas for
the United
States which will then be reviewed by the National Academy of Science.
Two approaches to fusion energy were discussed: magnetic fusion energy
in which
hydrogen fuel is heated to more than 100 million degrees and held in
place by
powerful magnets, and inertial fusion energy, in which small fuel
capsules are heated
and compressed rapidly by intense energy pulses, and held together
briefly by their
own inertia.

Preparation for the forum started over eight months ago when teams of
experts began
to assemble the technical data needed to evaluate proposed "burning
plasma"
experiments for magnetic fusion energy and plans for integrated research
experiments in inertial fusion energy. The study of "burning plasma" is
at the
frontier of magnetic fusion energy research and can occur only when the
hydrogen
fuel, or plasma, is strongly self-heated by fusion energy as in the sun
and stars. An
integrated research experiment would demonstrate the science and
technology
needed to deliver repetitive pulses of focused energy to a stream of
fuel capsules.
World fusion scientists have designed several magnetic fusion burning
plasma
experiments based on rapid scientific progress in the last decade.
Fusion experiments
in the U.S. and Europe have produced over 10 million watts of fusion
power and
have given scientists confidence to propose next step, burning plasma,
experiments.

One proposal, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
(ITER), is the
result of many years of collaborative design and R&D effort (including
the U.S.
through 1998) between Russia, Europe and Japan. Canada, Europe, and
Japan have
offered to host the device and negotiations are under way. This device
is planned to
incorporate large superconducting magnets, allowing near steady-state
operation at
the scale of a future fusion power station. The U.S., as a founding
member, has been
invited to join the ITER negotiations and is considering whether to do
so. Results
from the meeting at Snowmass will provide the basis for a policy
decision by the
United States to pursue a role in the ITER project.

A second burning plasma experimental option makes use of compact,
high-field
copper magnets. An experiment with copper magnets would be smaller and
less
costly than ITER, but it would also result in shorter pulses during
which burning
plasmas could be studied. Two experimental proposals, FIRE (developed in
the U.S.)
and IGNITOR (developed in Italy), are of this type.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF), a machine designed to demonstrate
ignition and
burn of inertial fusion plasma is currently under construction as part
of the US
Department of Energy Defense Programs. NIF will be able to test a wide
variety of
target concepts for inertial fusion but it is not designed to have the
pulse repetition
rate, shot lifetime, or efficiency needed for commercial power
production. Research
separate from NIF is developing devices with these capabilities.

Gas and solid-state lasers, as well as intense ion beams, are under
consideration for
an integrated research experiment. Most recently ideas using an intense
pulsed
electrical current have been proposed. A new technology, using very fast
lasers to
ignite the fusion fuel (called "fast ignition") has also caught the
interest of
researchers.

The 2002 Fusion Summer Study resulted in six major conclusions for both
magnetic
and inertial fusion energy.

For magnetic fusion energy, the forum concluded:

1.  The study of burning plasmas, in which self-heating from fusion
reactions
dominates plasma behavior, is at the frontier of magnetic fusion energy
science. The next major step in magnetic fusion research should be a
burning
plasma program, which is essential to the science focus and energy goal
of
fusion research.
2.  The three experiments proposed to achieve burning plasma operation
range
from compact, high field, copper magnet devices to a power-plant-scale
superconducting-magnet device. These approaches address a spectrum of
2002 Summer Fusion Study 3 July 19, 2002
both physics and fusion technology, and vary widely in overall mission,
schedule and cost.
3.  IGNITOR, FIRE, and ITER would enable studies of the physics of
burning
plasma, advance fusion technology, and contribute to the development of
fusion energy. The contributions of the three approaches would differ
considerably.
(i)  IGNITOR offers an opportunity for the early study of non-stationary
burning plasmas aiming at ignition.
(ii) FIRE offers an opportunity for the study of burning plasma physics
in
conventional and advanced tokamak configurations under quasistationary
conditions and would contribute to plasma technology.
(iii) ITER offers an opportunity for the study of burning plasma physics
in
conventional and advanced tokamak configurations for long durations
with steady state as the ultimate goal, and would contribute to the
development and integration of plasma and fusion technology.
4 .   There are no outstanding engineering-feasibility issues to prevent
the
successful design and fabrication of any of the three options. However,
the
three approaches are at different levels of design and R&D. There is
confidence that ITER and FIRE will achieve burning plasma performance in
H-mode based on an extensive experimental database. IGNITOR would
achieve similar performance if it either obtains H-mode confinement or
an
enhancement over the standard tokamak L-mode. However, the likelihood of
achieving these enhancements remains an unresolved issue between the
assessors and the IGNITOR team.
5.  The development path to realize fusion power as a practical energy
source
includes four major scientific elements:
(i)  Fundamental understanding of the underlying science and technology,
and optimization of magnetic configurations
(ii) Plasma physics research in a burning plasma experiment
(iii)  High performance, steady-state operation
(iv)  Development of low-activation materials and fusion technologies
6. A strong base science and technology program is needed to advance
essential
fusion science and technology and to participate effectively in, and to
benefit
from, the burning plasma effort. In particular, the development path for
innovative confinement configurations would benefit from research on a
tokamak-based burning plasma experiment.

For inertial fusion energy, major conclusions from the forum are:

1.  The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is expected to produce a
burning inertial
fusion plasma. The National Nuclear Security Administration is currently
building the National Ignition Facility.
2.  Laser systems for Inertial Fusion Energy have made impressive
progress in
efficiency, pulse rate, and lifetime. KrF lasers require further
improvement in
2002 Summer Fusion Study 4 July 19, 2002
lifetime, and solid-state lasers require improvement in the cost of
major
components.
3.  The heavy ion fusion program has made excellent progress in basic
beam
science. Several new science experiments have recently begun operations.
Integrated experiments at moderate beam energy and current, including
focusing intense beams in the chamber environment remain the important
technical issues.
4.  There has been impressive progress in z-pinch targets and good
progress in
conceptual power plant designs. Producing economical recyclable
transmission lines at low cost remains the most important issue.
5.  Chamber technology and target fabrication and injection are being
placed on
a sound scientific basis. For example, experiments on dry-wall damage
limits
are underway. Scaled hydraulics experiments have identified nozzle
designs
that can create all liquid jet configurations required for thick liquid
chambers,
and a target injection experiment is under construction. For heavy-ion
fusion
there is now a chamber design where the final focus magnets and chamber
structures have predicted lifetimes exceeding 30 years.
6.  There is broad international interest in fast ignition. If fast
ignition is
successful, it will produce higher energy gains than conventional
targets. So
far the target experiments have been encouraging, particularly the
recent
Japanese results. Fast ignition power production is at a rudimentary
level for
all drivers. An integrated research plan is required.

Fusion offers a clean and safe new energy source. With no carbon dioxide
emissions,
fusion energy provides a long-term solution to the problem of global
warming. The
next major steps for how to bring this new energy source to humanity are
now on the
table for consideration by policy-makers.

For further information on this subject contact:

Dr. Roger O. Bangerter (Co-Chair of 2002 Fusion Summer Study)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Phone (925) 831-1453 Email ROBangerter@lbl.gov

Prof. Gerald A Navratil (Co-Chair of 2002 Fusion Summer Study)
Columbia University
New York NY 10027
Phone (212) 854-4496 Email navratil@columbia.edu

Dr. Ned Robert Sauthoff (Co-Chair of 2002 Fusion Summer Study)
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton University
Princeton NJ 08543-0451
Phone (609) 243-3207 Email sauthoff@pppl.gov