Headlines | News Clean plasma demo boosts ITER fusion
Europe Nuclear fusion Scientists from EUROfusion, including researchers from the UK (UKAEA), Germany (IPP) and Belgium (ERM-KMS) and from ITER, working at the fusion device Joint European Torus (JET), have discovered a way to boost fusion performance by keeping the contaminant tungsten out of the plasma. Their work has been published in the journal Nuclear Fusion. The JET fusion tokomak employs magnetic fields to confine its plasma, a superheated gas of hydrogen isotopes. Under intense heat – 150 million degC, ten times hotter than the core of the sun – these isotopes fuse into helium, releasing energy as neutrons. To withstand the intense heat of the fusion process, the tokamak’s inner walls are made from high melting points metals such as tungsten. However, tungsten can contaminate, dilute and cool down the plasma, which happens when the plasma interacts with the machine’s inner metallic walls.
The tungsten impurities cool the plasma by absorbing heat and releasing it in the form of light, which can travel straight out of the plasma. This energy loss effectively cools the plasma and results in fewer fusion reactions. To prevent this from happening, researchers have discovered a way to limit the tungsten contaminants from affecting the plasma performance. They have found that by creating a particular type of ‘heat barrier’ a few centimetres thick at the edge of the plasma, in the form of a temperature drop of 20 million
degC, the tungsten contaminants are prevented from entering the core of plasma. This method of retaining a ‘clean’ plasma was a hypothesis before recently being demonstrated at JET. The method was trialled as part of a series of experiments contributing to JET breaking the world-record in sustained fusion energy last year.
The demonstration is a major boost for international fusion project ITER, the larger and more advanced version of JET. Dr Anthony Field, senior fusion researcher at UKAEA commented: “Our measurements show that we are one step closer to solving one of the greatest scientific quests of our time. The plasma can keep itself clear of tungsten contaminants that would cool it, by maintaining a temperature drop of twenty million degC at the edge of our plasma. This prevents the tungsten ions from stopping us reaching fusion conditions.”
Grants for fusion projects
Eighteen organisations have secured contracts with the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to demonstrate innovative technologies and proposed solutions that can help make fusion energy a commercial reality. The organisations will focus on overcoming specific technical and physical challenges. The contracts – feasibility studies from £50 000 to £200 000 – are funded by the UKAEA’s ‘Fusion Industry Programme’ and awarded through the UK government platform ‘Small Business Research Initiative’. The latest
contracts are the second part of the Programme, following the first cycle in 2021. The projects aim to tackle specific challenges, from novel fusion materials and manufacturing techniques through to innovative heating and cooling systems.
Tim Bestwick, UKAEA’s chief technology officer, commented: “In the past 12 months we have seen significant advances both in the UK and globally that demonstrate the potential for fusion energy to be a safe, low-carbon and sustainable part of the world’s future energy supply. However, there are a number of significant technical challenges to address for fusion energy to realise its potential. The Fusion Industry Programme is helping engage organisations and industrial partners to stimulate innovation and address these important challenges.”
The programme is part of the government’s £484 m support package for UK research, announced last year. £42.1 m was allocated to help stimulate innovation and to accelerate the development of the fusion industry. Contracts have been awarded to start-ups, small-medium enterprises, established companies, and academia, with six of the eighteen organisations receiving funding through the Fusion Industry Programme for the first time.
Knowledge transfer from other technical and engineering sectors is vitally important to the fusion industry, allowing a collective approach to tackling climate change issues.
Worldwide Power production The latest International Energy Agency ‘Monthly Electricity Statistics’ report shows that for the whole of the OECD membership, total net electricity production amounted to 851.3 TWh in November 2022, down by 1.8% y-o-y compared to the previous November. But electricity production from renewable sources increased by 9.7% y-o-y at 295.3 TWh, mainly driven by solar (+41.3% y-o-y) and wind (+15.6% y-o-y), with hydro remaining stable (+0.3% y-o-y). Overall, the share of renewables in the OECD electricity mix settled at 34.7%.
Nuclear electricity production dropped by 9.0% y-o-y at 136.0 TWh, continuing the downward trend observed during previous months. This decrease was mainly driven by OECD Europe (-19.5% y-o-y), followed by the OECD Americas (-1.8% y-o-y) and OECD Asia Oceania (-1.4% y-o-y). Overall, the share of nuclear in the OECD electricity mix was 16.0%. Electricity production from fossil fuels decreased by 6.0% at 417.5 TWh, mainly driven by natural gas (-6.1% y-o-y or 15.9 TWh), followed by coal (-5.9% y-o-y or 9.8 TWh). Production from natural gas declined both in OECD Europe (-21.1% y-o-y) and OECD Asia Oceania (-9.8% y-o-y), while the OECD Americas witnessed a small growth (+2.5% y-o-y). Coal power production decreased in all OECD regions, with the sharpest drop occurring in OECD Europe (-10.2% y-o-y). Overall, the share of combustible fuels in the OECD electricity mix was 52.1%.
Power production down, but renewables up – IEA Electricity production (TWh)
0 Coal
combustibles Nuclear
Natural gas Other
Hydro Wind Solar Others
Jan-Apr 2021 May 2021 Jan-Apr 2022 May 2022
200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400
OECD electricity production by fuel type year to date comparison A significant change occurred in Argentina, where electricity
production from nuclear power amounted to only 34.6 GWh in November 2022, down by 96.8% or 1.1 TWh compared to the same month last year. Operations at the largest nuclear plant in the country, Atucha II, have been halted since October 2022 following a ‘technical incident’ necessitating repair works. The share of nuclear power in the country’s electricity mix, typically between 6% and 8% over the last two years, fell to only 0.3% in November 2022.
The IEA’s Monthly Electricity Statistics features electricity
production and trade data for all OECD Member Countries and electricity production data for a selection of other economies.
www.modernpowersystems.com | March 2023 | 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45
