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Released May 08, 2017 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Fusion energy took a step closer to reality in the U.K. last week when the latest Tokamak fusion reactor reached "first plasma".
The ST40, which was built by private fusion energy venture Tokamak Energy (Oxfordshire, England), was turned on for the first time generating a molten mass of electrically-charged gas, known as plasma, inside its core. The company wants to deliver small-scale commercial fusion energy to the grid by 2030.
The next step in the project will be to complete the commissioning and installation of the full set of magnetic coils which are crucial to reaching the temperatures required for fusion. They will enable the ST40 to produce plasma temperature of 15 million degrees--as hot as the centre of the sun--sometime this autumn. By next year, the reactor aims to produce a record-breaking plasma temperature of 100 million degrees. This is seven times hotter than the centre of the sun and the temperature necessary for controlled fusion. At this temperature and hotter, charged particles that naturally repel can be forced together to induce the controlled fusion reaction.
The company said once this is achieved, "commercially viable fusion power can be produced in compact spherical tokamaks."
"Today is an important day for fusion energy development in the U.K., and the world," said Dr. David Kingham, chief executive officer of Tokamak Energy. "We are unveiling the first world-class controlled fusion device to have been designed, built and operated by a private venture. The ST40 is a machine that will show fusion temperatures--100 million degrees--are possible in compact, cost-effective reactors. This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades."
He added: "We will still need significant investment, many academic and industrial collaborations, dedicated and creative engineers and scientists, and an excellent supply chain. Our approach continues to be to break the journey down into a series of engineering challenges, raising additional investment on reaching each new milestone. We are already halfway to the goal of fusion energy; with hard work we will deliver fusion power at commercial scale by 2030."
Larger fusion energy projects are also under way, including the world's largest experimental nuclear fusion project at the Tokamak Complex in France. Located in Cadarache in southern France, construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion reactor project has been ongoing since 2013. The 13 billion-euro ($14.2 billion) project, if successful, will be able to produce "three to four times" more power than conventional nuclear. The Tokamak will have estimated generating capacity of 500 megawatts. For additional information, see December 20, 2013, article - Milestone for First Fusion Reactor.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The ST40, which was built by private fusion energy venture Tokamak Energy (Oxfordshire, England), was turned on for the first time generating a molten mass of electrically-charged gas, known as plasma, inside its core. The company wants to deliver small-scale commercial fusion energy to the grid by 2030.
The next step in the project will be to complete the commissioning and installation of the full set of magnetic coils which are crucial to reaching the temperatures required for fusion. They will enable the ST40 to produce plasma temperature of 15 million degrees--as hot as the centre of the sun--sometime this autumn. By next year, the reactor aims to produce a record-breaking plasma temperature of 100 million degrees. This is seven times hotter than the centre of the sun and the temperature necessary for controlled fusion. At this temperature and hotter, charged particles that naturally repel can be forced together to induce the controlled fusion reaction.
The company said once this is achieved, "commercially viable fusion power can be produced in compact spherical tokamaks."
"Today is an important day for fusion energy development in the U.K., and the world," said Dr. David Kingham, chief executive officer of Tokamak Energy. "We are unveiling the first world-class controlled fusion device to have been designed, built and operated by a private venture. The ST40 is a machine that will show fusion temperatures--100 million degrees--are possible in compact, cost-effective reactors. This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades."
He added: "We will still need significant investment, many academic and industrial collaborations, dedicated and creative engineers and scientists, and an excellent supply chain. Our approach continues to be to break the journey down into a series of engineering challenges, raising additional investment on reaching each new milestone. We are already halfway to the goal of fusion energy; with hard work we will deliver fusion power at commercial scale by 2030."
Larger fusion energy projects are also under way, including the world's largest experimental nuclear fusion project at the Tokamak Complex in France. Located in Cadarache in southern France, construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) fusion reactor project has been ongoing since 2013. The 13 billion-euro ($14.2 billion) project, if successful, will be able to produce "three to four times" more power than conventional nuclear. The Tokamak will have estimated generating capacity of 500 megawatts. For additional information, see December 20, 2013, article - Milestone for First Fusion Reactor.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
