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Released July 12, 2021 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Canada's General Fusion (Vancouver) has announced plans to build the U.K.'s first nuclear fusion plant at Culham, home to the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).
The company, which has been backed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos for a decade, will build and operate its Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP) at the Culham site, after which it will enter into a long-term lease with UKAEA. The demonstration plant is designed to prove its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology and pave the way for its subsequent commercial pilot plant. The project is estimated to cost around US$400 million with a commissioning goal of 2025.
Amanda Solloway, Science Minister for the U.K. Government, said: "This new plant by General Fusion is a huge boost for our plans to develop a fusion industry in the U.K., and I'm thrilled that Culham will be home to such a cutting-edge and potentially transformative project. Fusion energy has great potential as a source of limitless, low-carbon energy, and today's announcement is a clear vote of confidence in the region and the U.K.'s status as a global science superpower."
"Coming to Culham gives us the opportunity to benefit from UKAEA's expertise," stated Christofer Mowry, chief executive officer, General Fusion. "By locating at this campus, General Fusion expands our market presence beyond North America into Europe, broadening our global network of government, institutional, and industrial partners. This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy."
MFT uses a 3-meter sphere filled with a mix of molten liquid lead and lithium. The liquid metal is spun, creating a vertical cavity in the centre of the sphere, into which a plasma injector injects magnetically-confined deuterium-tritium plasma fuel in pulses. The outside of the sphere is covered with steam pistons that push the liquid metal and collapse the vortex, compressing the plasma. Compression increases the density and temperature of the plasma to the range where the fuel atoms fuse, releasing energy in the form of fast neutrons and alpha particles. This energy heats the liquid metal, which is then pumped through a heat exchanger to generate electricity via a steam turbine.
General Fusion is one of a number of private companies hoping to crack the scientific problem of creating nuclear fusion that can be used to produce electricity at a commercial scale. Industrial Info also is tracking the world's first planned large-scale fusion reactor in Cadarache, southeastern France. The 20 billion-euro (US$24 billion) project, overseen by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organisation, is an international effort that employs 10,000 people globally and is overseen by eight members: China, the 27 nations of the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Korea, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. The EU is funding almost half of the cost of its construction and the group believes that first fusion power will take place in 2025.
Earlier this year, Industrial Info reported that ITER had signed final contracts with the contractors that will carry out assembly and installation activities inside of the Tokamak Complex. For additional information, see January 25, 2021, article - Final Contracts Signed for Assembly of World's First Fusion Reactor.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
The company, which has been backed by Amazon's Jeff Bezos for a decade, will build and operate its Fusion Demonstration Plant (FDP) at the Culham site, after which it will enter into a long-term lease with UKAEA. The demonstration plant is designed to prove its Magnetized Target Fusion (MTF) technology and pave the way for its subsequent commercial pilot plant. The project is estimated to cost around US$400 million with a commissioning goal of 2025.
Amanda Solloway, Science Minister for the U.K. Government, said: "This new plant by General Fusion is a huge boost for our plans to develop a fusion industry in the U.K., and I'm thrilled that Culham will be home to such a cutting-edge and potentially transformative project. Fusion energy has great potential as a source of limitless, low-carbon energy, and today's announcement is a clear vote of confidence in the region and the U.K.'s status as a global science superpower."
"Coming to Culham gives us the opportunity to benefit from UKAEA's expertise," stated Christofer Mowry, chief executive officer, General Fusion. "By locating at this campus, General Fusion expands our market presence beyond North America into Europe, broadening our global network of government, institutional, and industrial partners. This is incredibly exciting news for not only General Fusion, but also the global effort to develop practical fusion energy."
MFT uses a 3-meter sphere filled with a mix of molten liquid lead and lithium. The liquid metal is spun, creating a vertical cavity in the centre of the sphere, into which a plasma injector injects magnetically-confined deuterium-tritium plasma fuel in pulses. The outside of the sphere is covered with steam pistons that push the liquid metal and collapse the vortex, compressing the plasma. Compression increases the density and temperature of the plasma to the range where the fuel atoms fuse, releasing energy in the form of fast neutrons and alpha particles. This energy heats the liquid metal, which is then pumped through a heat exchanger to generate electricity via a steam turbine.
General Fusion is one of a number of private companies hoping to crack the scientific problem of creating nuclear fusion that can be used to produce electricity at a commercial scale. Industrial Info also is tracking the world's first planned large-scale fusion reactor in Cadarache, southeastern France. The 20 billion-euro (US$24 billion) project, overseen by the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organisation, is an international effort that employs 10,000 people globally and is overseen by eight members: China, the 27 nations of the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Korea, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. The EU is funding almost half of the cost of its construction and the group believes that first fusion power will take place in 2025.
Earlier this year, Industrial Info reported that ITER had signed final contracts with the contractors that will carry out assembly and installation activities inside of the Tokamak Complex. For additional information, see January 25, 2021, article - Final Contracts Signed for Assembly of World's First Fusion Reactor.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn.
