According to recent simulations and analysis, the flagship fusion Power facility of the United States Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) might serve as the model for an economically appealing next-generation fusion pilot plant.
The pilot plant could be the next step in the United States toward collecting the fusion power that powers the sun and stars on Earth as a safe and clean source of power for producing energy.
The fusion community in the United States has recently pushed for an urgent effort to develop and build a cost-effective pilot plant capable of generating electricity in the 2040s. The PPPL flagship, the National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U), which is currently being repaired, has unique features that make its design suitable for that role. “It’s all about trying to project whether this route is favorable for a cost-effective pilot plant and beyond,” said Walter Guttenfelder, principal physicist and main author of a study detailing the new discoveries published in the journal Nuclear Fusion.
Fusion produces vast energy by combining light elements such as hydrogen in the form of plasma, the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions. Plasma composes 99 percent of the visible universe and fuels fusion reactions that produce heat and light that create and sustain life on Earth.
The spherically shaped NSTX-U produces high-pressure plasmas required for fusion reactions in a relatively compact and cost-effective configuration. Operating capabilities of the facility are greatly enhanced over its pre-upgraded predecessor. “The primary motivation for NSTX-U is to push up to even higher powers, higher magnetic fields supporting high-temperature plasmas to see if previously observed favorable trends continue,”
Source: This news is originally published by scitechdaily