ITER and the future of fusion

ITER and the future of fusion J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck Energy PMP Meeting Erice, Sicily 19 August 2008 J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Content of this talk Introduction Tokamak JET and ITER Current status of the ITER project Conclusions J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 D-T Fusion Reaction: D + T → 4He + n • Alpha particle : 20 % of reaction energy T D • Neutron : 80 % of reaction energy n, 14.1 MeV 4He, 3.5 MeV J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Fusion - a difficult process • Two positive nuclei (D+ and T+) at short distance — strong repulsion EXTREMELY HIGH temperatures needed to bring nuclei close enough together : ~200 000 000 K • Special methods needed to heat and contain the fuel • Huge temperature gradient (~ 200 000 000K/m) — gradients limited by turbulence ⇒ TURBULENT medium including radiation, whence complex description J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 • Ash is 4He — no radioactivity — chemically inert : no ozone depletion, no acid rain,... — no greenhouse effect ⇒ Excellent environmental compatibility • Does not imply long term storage of radioactive waste — part of fuel is active (tritium), but consumed in reaction — choice of structural materials to reduce long lived activity ⇒ Offers prospect to recycle radioactive waste in 1-2 generations • Inherently safe — malfunction of control system does not lead to runaway ⇒ Tchernobyl like accident EXCLUDED • Inexhaustible — fuel consumption is minimal, reaction releases lots of energy ⇒ Energy source for thousands/millions of years • Energy independence — no geographical dependence for fuel ⇒ Avoid geopolitical difficulties J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Advantages of fusion Minimal amount of Fusion Fuel needed for a huge amount of energy • Raw fuel of a fusion reactor is water and lithium (to produce Tritium) Chemical reactions Fusion reactions energy ~ 1 eV energy ~ 107 eV • Lithium in one laptop battery + half a bath of water : 200,000 kW-hours • ~ 25 years of electricity for a European citizen J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Content of this talk Introduction Tokamak JET and ITER Current status of the ITER project Conclusions J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Principle of the tokamak • Tokamak, from the Russian words: toroidalnaya kamera, s magnitnami katushkami meaning “toroidal chamber” with “magnetic coils” • Invented by : Andrei Sacharov and Igor Tamm (both Noble Prize Winners) at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow in 1950 • Essentially a tokamak consists of : — large transformer — coils for magnetic fields — plasma ring with large plasma current J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 How to obtain needed ultra high temperatures? FUSION REACTOR: HEATING BY He PARTICLES FROM FUSION REACTIONS J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Content of this talk Introduction Tokamak JET and ITER Current status of the ITER project Conclusions J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Joint European Torus (JET) Common European Facility (Oxfordshire, UK) Largest tokamak worldwide Vacuum vessel Plasma volume Plasma current 3.96m high x 2.4m wide 80 m3 - 100 m3 up to 5 MA in present configurations Confining magnetic field up to 4 Tesla J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 JET - Flagship of world-wide fusion research Maximum Plasma Current Up to 5 MA D-T capability Be capability Up to 3MA Europe Japan USA Russian Federation China JET FUSION PERFORMANCE INCREASES CURRENT ----- WITH THE PLASMA------------- ----ASDEX-Upgrade, FTU, MAST, TORE-SUPRA TEXTOR, TCV COMPASS-D CASTOR, ISTTOK JT-60U ----NSTX, DIII-D, C-MOD ----HBT-EP ET --------Fusion fuel --------ITER first wall T-10 T-11M, TUMAN-3M, GLOBUS-M ----HT-7, HT-6M, HL-1M, HL-2A, CT-6B, KT-5C Between 1 MA and 2MA Between 0.5MA and 1MA 0.5 MA and less ----- ----TRIAM1M, JFT-2M New tokamaks are in construction in China (EAST, SUNIST), South Korea (KSTAR) and India (SST-1) J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 View inside JET Heating Antennae First wall : Carbon tiles Divertor J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Inside of JET without and with plasma 200 000 000 C Magnetic surfaces J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 What has been achieved ? 16 MW - JET 1997 τE J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Why we need ITER ? Data needed for the definition of a fusion reactor (DEMO) Essentially we have learnt ‘how to start the fusion fire’ • Configuration where fusion reactions are feasible : OK • Reaching the high temperatures : OK • Confine the hot plasma for seconds : OK • D-T fusion plasmas with multimegawatt output : OK Main difference with reactor plasmas and current machines Long duration of the plasma A steady source of He in the centre A steady flow of high energy neutrons What do we need to learn ? ‘how to maintain the fusion fire’ J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 How to maintain the fusion fire ? Physics • Clean plasma centre : — Check He removal — Keep impurity level sufficiently low • Reactive plasma : — Optimize fuelling (D,T) of plasma centre • Stable plasma : — Suppress possible He induced instabilities Technology • Optimise first wall and plasma facing components • Test Tritium breeding from Lithium J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 D,T Impurities He D,T Content of this talk Introduction Tokamak JET and ITER Current status of the ITER project Conclusions J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 ITER site ITER Council Meeting (28 June 2005, Moscow) CADARACHE, France (~80km north of Marseille) France Japan Canada Spain J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 ITER : More than half of the world population is represented • Original partners • • Since 6 december 2005 also India joined ! Kazachstan is proposed as a new member Unique project in all of its aspects J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 ITER top management team nominated Director-General Deputy Director-General Project Construction Leader • Kaname Ikeda, Japan • Nuclear Engineering, Univ Tokyo • Appointment on 8 mar 2006 • Norbert Holtkamp (ORNL) • Worked at Spallation Neutron Source • Appointment on 1 apr 2006 Erice, 19 August 2008 J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion ITER top management team 6 further Deputy Director-General Posts nominated July 13, 2006 Safety & Security Carlos Alejaldre (EU) Fusion Science & Technology Valery Chuyanov (RF) Administration Saoqi Wang (CN) Tokamak Systems Gary Johnson (US) Central Engineering and Plant Systems Yong Hwan Kim (KO) Control/Heating and Current Drive Systems/ Diagnostics Dhiraj Bora (IN) Erice, 19 August 2008 J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion ITER recent news ITER team being established (~200 professionals) ITER design review finished : shift in construction schedule (+ 2 years) J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 ITER grounds being prepared July 2008 J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 ITER Construction Schedule* *This was the status in January 2006 Januray 2008 : Delayed by 2 years : first plasma expected 2018 J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Roadmap for fusion research Now : — JET — Specialised (smaller) machines in fusion labs around the world Tomorrow (coming 20-30 years) : — ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) — Broader approach (see talk by A.Miyahara). — IFMIF (International Fusion Materials Irradition Facility) From mid 21st century : — DEMO, Prototype Fusion Power Plants — Commercial Power Plants J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 General remark Urgent need for good education of the general public on energy questions If we build a bridge we ask an engineer to make a plan. But for energy problems, there are a lot of pressure groups, each with its own opinion (based on ?). Politicians seem to be under pressure to take all of these into account. Energy discussions in press and politics need better information. - E.g. Hydrogen as a ‘miraculous’ solution - Not so : need to produce it ! - It is only another energy carrier - Similarly for electricity - Renewables : need clear exposé on limitations - Fission : Is waste really such a problem ? How does it compare to coal for waste ? Are other solutions being prepared (e.g. Gen IV), etc.. - Fusion need good and didactic explanations for the general public : what is a plasma ? Are there any risks ? Etc… -There is no easy solution and it will take time! But we have to start J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 urgently !! Conclusions ITER has many features to study a burning plasma and is a necessary step to realize a fusion power reactor • To accomplish its mission, ITER must realize an ambitious physics programme • Essential characteristics of this fabulous project : – Long plasma discharges (≥ 30 min) • Flexible heating systems • Several systems (ICRH, NBI, ECRH, LH) • An extensive set of diagnostics • Auxiliary systems : • Pellet injection (D or H ice cubes) • Systems to control MHD instabilities • Flexibility in the shape of the plasma • First wall and divertor are exchangeable J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008 Conclusions • For the first time, mankind has has the knowledge to confine and controle a fusion plasma at a temperature of 100-200 million degrees. Let us apply this knowledge to find an additional solution to provide our future energy needs • ITER is a genuine endeavour : • 7 Partners world wide (perhaps soon 8) • Substantial participation of developing countries • Urgency of the energy problem ! • Fusion is not only for the ‘rich West’ • Unique and fascinating physics • A promising solution (among others) for our future energy supply J.Ongena, A.Miyahara, F.Waelbroeck -- ITER and the future of fusion Erice, 19 August 2008