The prototype of the spherical Tokamak for nuclear fusion starts in the UK
British company Tokamak Energy and the British Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA, the government agency responsible for the research and development of nuclear fusion energy) have jointly announced that the company will build its prototype spherical tokamak , named ST80-HTS, at the UK Fusion Cluster. The UK Fusion Cluster is located on the UKAEA Campus Culham, Oxfordshire, England. Culham is also the site of the Joint European Torus fusion experiment, which has made a major contribution to the development of fusion energy technologies.
The ST80-HTS will be housed in a new purpose-built facility, which design is already underway. This prototype spherical tokamak is scheduled for completion in 2026. Its location on the UKAEA campus will give the company easy access to world-class capabilities in both science and engineering and one of the world's largest concentrations of expertise and experience in the design, construction and management of nuclear fusion. This decision follows the conclusion of a framework agreement between Tokamak Energy and the UKAEA last October to collaborate more closely in the development of spherical tokamaks as a means of obtaining commercial fusion energy.
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“This exciting announcement represents a major step forward in our mission to demonstrate grid-ready fusion power by the early 2030s,” said Chris Kelsall, CEO of Tokamak Energy. “Our next device, ST80-HTS, aims to validate key engineering solutions needed to make commercial fusion a reality and will showcase our world-class magnet technology at scale. It is clear that public-private partnerships of this kind will be a crucial catalyst for fusion, to ensure global energy security and mitigate climate change."
“Our ability to accommodate large facilities extends throughout the supply chain, from design to decommissioning,” notes UKAEA Director-General Professor Sir Ian Chapman. "The announcement is testament to Culham's attractiveness for fusion development, as we welcome Tokamak Energy to the Campus cluster."
Nuclear fusion is what powers the Sun and all other stars. Controlled nuclear fusion consists of forcing two light atomic nuclei to merge, forming a heavy nucleus and simultaneously releasing a lot of energy. A tokamak can be thought of as a large hollow donut, entirely enclosed by extremely powerful electromagnets, with another electromagnetic system filling the "hole" in the center of the "donut". Atoms of hydrogen isotopes are deprived of their electrons (by means of an electric current), forming (positively) charged plasmas. Electromagnets confine and control these plasmas, which are heated to very high temperatures (this can be done in various ways), which causes the atomic nuclei to collide, resulting in fusion and the release of energy. The time a plasma is held within the electromagnetic field of a tokamak is called the pulse. With fusion, there is no spent fuel.
A compact spherical tokamak works just like a standard tokamak, but requires significantly less volume to do so (hence, “compact”). Instead of a donut shape, think of the shape of a cored apple (hence the descriptive term "spherical").
“Tokamak Energy's ST80-HTS will target the significantly longer pulse duration needed for high and sustained power generation in commercially competitive fusion power plants,” notes the UKAEA. “In addition, it will be used to design the ST-E1 fusion pilot plant, which will demonstrate the ability to supply electricity to the grid in the early 2030s, up to 200 MW of net electrical capacity”.
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The article The prototype of the spherical Tokamak for nuclear fusion starts in the UK comes from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/negli-uk-parte-il-prototipo-del-tokamak-sferico-per-la-fusione-nucleare/ on Sat, 18 Feb 2023 14:07:35 +0000.