Spherical Tokamaks with High Temperature Superconducting Magnets Progress to Fusion Power
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Overview of the SPARC Tokamak
This is a repository copy of Overview of the SPARC tokamak. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/166980/ Version: Published Version Article: Creely, A. J., Greenwald, M. J., Ballinger, S. B. et al. (42 more authors) (2020) Overview of the SPARC tokamak. Journal of Plasma Physics. 865860502. ISSN 0022-3778 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022377820001257 Reuse This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. This licence only allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you credit the authors, but you can’t change the article in any way or use it commercially. More information and the full terms of the licence here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ J. Plasma Phys. (2020), vol. 86, 865860502 © The Author(s), 2020. 1 Published by Cambridge University Press This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work. -
Spherical Tokamak) on the Path to Fusion Energy
Spherical Torus (Spherical Tokamak) on the Path to Fusion Energy ST can support fast implementation of fusion Demo in unique, important ways 1) Opportunities to support the strategy of Demo after ITER 2) Important ways in which ST can do so 3) Component Test Facility for steady state integrated testing 4) Broad progress and the remaining CTF physics R&D needs Martin Peng, NSTX Program Director Fusion Power Associates Annual Meeting and Symposium Fusion: Pathway to the Future September 27-28, 2006, Washington D.C. EU-Japan plan of Broader Approach toward Demo introduces opportunities in physics and component EVEDA OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY S. Matsuda, SOFT 2006 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FPA Annual Mtg & Symp, 09/27-28/2006 2 Korean fusion energy development plan introduces opportunities in accelerating fusion technology R&D OAK RIDGEGS NATIONAL Lee, US LABORATORY2006 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FPA Annual Mtg & Symp, 09/27-28/2006 3 We propose that ST research addresses issues in support of this strategy • Support and benefit from USBPO-ITPA activities in preparation for burning plasma research in ITER using physics breadth provided by ST. • Complement and extend tokamak physics experiments, by maximizing synergy in investigating key scientific issues of tokamak fusion plasmas • Enable attractive integrated Component Test Facility (CTF) to support Demo, by NSTX establishing ST database and example leveraging the advancing tokamak database for ITER burning plasma operation and control. ST (All) USBPO- ITPA (~2/5) Tokamak (~3/4) OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FPA Annual Mtg & Symp, 09/27-28/2006 4 World Spherical Tokamak research has expanded to 22 experiments addressing key physics issues MAST (UK) NSTX (US) OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY U. -
MHD in the Spherical Tokamak
21 st IAEA Fusion Energy Conference, Chengdu, China, 2006 MHD in the Spherical Tokamak MAST authors: SD Pinches , I Chapman, MP Gryaznevich, DF Howell, SE Sharapov, RJ Akers, LC Appel, RJ Buttery, NJ Conway, G Cunningham, TC Hender, GTA Huysmans, EX/7-2Ra R Martin and the MAST and NBI Teams NSTX authors: A.C. Sontag, S.A. Sabbagh, W. Zhu, J.E. Menard, R.E. Bell, J.M. Bialek, M.G. Bell, D.A. Gates, A.H. Glasser, B.P. Leblanc, F.M. Levinton, K.C. Shaing, D. Stutman, K.L. Tritz, H. Yu, and the NSTX Research Team EX/7-2Rb Office of Supported by Science This work was jointly funded by the UK Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council and Euratom MHD physics understanding to reduce performance risks in ITER and a CTF – Error field studies – RWM stability in high beta plasmas – Effects of rotation upon sawteeth – Alfvén cascades in reversed shear EX/7-2Ra EX/7-2Rb Error field studies in MAST EX/7-2Ra Error fields: slow rotation, induce instabilities, terminate discharge Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak R = 0.85m, R/a ~ 1.3 Four ex-vessel (ITER-like) error field correction coils wired to produce odd-n spectrum, Imax = 15 kA·turns (3 turns) Locked mode scaling in MAST EX/7-2Ra Error fields contribute to βN limit: n=1 kink B21 is the m = 2, n = 1 field component normal to q = 2 surface: • Similar density scaling observed on NSTX • Extrapolating to a Spherical Tokamak Power Plant / Component Test Facility gives locked mode thresholds ≈ intrinsic error ⇒ prudent to include EFCCs [Howell et al . -
Tokamak Energy April 2019
Faster Fusion through Innovations M Gryaznevich and Tokamak Energy Ltd. Team FusionCAT Webinar 14 September 2020 © 2020 Tokamak Energy Tokamak 20202020 © Energy Tokamak Fusion Research – Public Tokamaks JET GLOBUS-M Oxford, UK StPetersburg, RF COMPASS KTM Prague, CZ (1) Kurchatov, KZ (3) T15-M Alcator C-Mod Moscow STOR-M Cambridge, MA MAST Saskatoon, SK Oxford, UK ASDEX KSTAR ITER(1)(2) / WEST Garching, DE Daejeon, KR LTX / NSTX Cadarache, FR FTU HL-2 (1) Pegasus Princeton, NJ Frascati, IT JT-60SA DIII-D Madison, WI TCV Chengdu, CN QUEST Naka, JP San Diego, CA ISTTOK Lausanne, CH Kasuga, JP Lisbon, PT SST-1 / ADITY EAST Gandhinagar, IN Hefei, CN Conventional Tokamak • Fusion research is advancing Spherical Tokamak • However, progress towards Fusion Power is constrained Note: Tokamaks are operating unless indicated otherwise. (1) Under construction. (2) The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (“ITER”) megaproject is supported by China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. © 2020© Energy Tokamak (3) No longer in use. 2 Fusion Development – Private Funding Cambridge, MA Langfang, PRC Vancouver, BC Los Angeles, CA Orange County, CA • Common goal of privately and publicly Oxford, UK Oxford, UK funded Fusion research is to develop technologies and Fusion Industry • At TE, we have identified the key technology Conventional Tokamak Spherical Tokamak gaps needed to create a commercial fusion Non-Tokamak Technology reactor and then used Technology Roadmapping as an approach chart our path. © 2020© -
Faster Fusion
AN INTRODUCTION TO Faster fusion What is fusion? That is, the tokamak is a toroidal – or ring- PROGRESS IN FUSION HAS SLOWED Can we achieve fusion faster? Additionally, high temperature Fusion is the energy of the stars. Small atomic nuclei join together to make larger ones, doughnut-shaped – vessel with magnetic We believe so. In the last few decades new superconductors can support a much which releases energy. All the heavier elements in the universe were made this way. coils that make a trap for the plasma. The Moore’s Law technologies have emerged. Building on all higher current density than conventional plasma is heated using microwaves or (computers) the work that has gone into JET and ITER, it superconductors (meaning they can achieve Fusion only happens at very high temperatures because it is forcing together particles that powerful particle injectors and it has to be Fusion energy gain now seems feasible that by using a slightly higher magnetic fields for the same thickness would usually be far apart. Nuclei are all positively charged particles, so they keep away stabilised by carefully controlling the shape of differently shaped (spherical) tokamak of superconductor), so they will work with the from each other just like magnets of the same polarity repel. Nuclei don’t want to come the magnetic fields. Progress combined with the latest generation of high squashed-up shape of the spherical tokamak. toward fusion together, so the only way for fusion to occur is to heat things up a lot, like in the stars. temperature superconductors for magnets, we HTS magnets will be a game-changer for When will we be using fusion power? could make smaller, cheaper machines and so fusion, but scaling up requires new systems That is the hardest question to answer. -
22.615, MHD Theory of Fusion Systems Prof. Freidberg Lecture #14: Real Tokamaks (With Bob Granetz)
22.615, MHD Theory of Fusion Systems Prof. Freidberg Lecture #14: Real Tokamaks (with Bob Granetz) 1. Today’s lecture presents a qualitative picture of various members of the tokamak family. These include: a. Ohmic tokamak - discussed in class b. High E tokamak - discussed in class (ITER) c. Advanced tokamak (AT operation – not so hot) d. Reversed shear tokamak (RS operation – good AT operation) e. Spherical tokamak (NSTX, MAST) 2. It will also include a discussion of the MHD behavior of Alcator C-Mod presented by Dr. Bob Granetz. 3. We begin with a brief discussion of elongation and why it is good as well as a short summary of the main instabilities of interest. These instabilities are discussed in more detail during the second part of the term. 4. Elongation – from an MHD point of view, elongation is desirable because it allows higher current I and higher E without sacrificing stability. High I also improves transport: WvI . 5. Recall that q* 1/I so that increasing I tends to decrease qa, therby decreasing stability. Elongation can compensate this effect. 6. The idea is as follows. If we assume that stability depends upon the value of q* or q,a regardless of plasma shape, then we can show that elongation allows higher I without changing q. 7. The assumption that stability depends largely on q* turns out to be approximately true for current driven kinks (that lead to disruption). Also, elongation uses the critical E for stability for a fixed q. 8. Let us determine an approximate relation between q, I, and elongation N . -
Compact Fusion Reactors
Compact fusion reactors Tomas Lind´en Helsinki Institute of Physics 26.03.2015 Fusion research is currently to a large extent focused on tokamak (ITER) and inertial confinement (NIF) research. In addition to these large international or national efforts there are private companies performing fusion research using much smaller devices than ITER or NIF. The attempt to achieve fusion energy production through relatively small and compact devices compared to tokamaks decreases the costs and building time of the reactors and this has allowed some private companies to enter the field, like EMC2, General Fusion, Helion Energy, Lockheed Martin and LPP Fusion. Some of these companies are trying to demonstrate net energy production within the next few years. If they are successful their next step is to attempt to commercialize their technology. In this presentation an overview of compact fusion reactor concepts is given. CERN Colloquium 26th of March 2015 Tomas Lind´en (HIP) Compact fusion reactors 26.03.2015 1 / 37 Contents Contents 1 Introduction 2 Funding of fusion research 3 Basics of fusion 4 The Polywell reactor 5 Lockheed Martin CFR 6 Dense plasma focus 7 MTF 8 Other fusion concepts or companies 9 Summary Tomas Lind´en (HIP) Compact fusion reactors 26.03.2015 2 / 37 Introduction Introduction Climate disruption ! ! Pollution ! ! ! Extinctions Ecosystem Transformation Population growth and consumption There is no silver bullet to solve these issues, but energy production is "#$%&'$($#!)*&+%&+,+!*&!! central to many of these issues. -.$&'.$&$&/!0,1.&$'23+! Economically practical fusion power 4$(%!",55*6'!"2+'%1+!$&! could contribute significantly to meet +' '7%!89 !)%&',62! the future increased energy :&(*61.'$*&!(*6!;*<$#2!-.=%6+! production demands in a sustainable way. -
Tokamak Elongation – How Much Is Too Much? I Theory J. P. Freidbergι
Tokamak elongation – how much is too much? I Theory J. P. Freidberg1, A. Cerfon2 , J. P. Lee1,2 Abstract In this and the accompanying paper the problem of the maximally achievable elongation κ in a tokamak is investigated. The work represents an extension of many earlier studies, which were often focused on determining κ limits due to (1) natural elongation in a simple applied pure vertical field or (2) axisymmetric stability in the presence of a perfectly conducting wall. The extension investigated here includes the effect of the vertical stability feedback system which actually sets the maximum practical elongation limit in a real experiment. A basic resistive wall stability parameter γτ is introduced w to model the feedback system which although simple in appearance actually captures the essence of the feedback system. Elongation limits in the presence of feedback are then determined by calculating the maximum κ against n = 0 resistive wall modes for fixed γτ . The results are obtained by means of a general formulation culminating in a w variational principle which is particularly amenable to numerical analysis. The principle is valid for arbitrary profiles but simplifies significantly for the Solov'ev profiles, effectively reducing the 2-D stability problem into a 1-D problem. The accompanying paper provides the numerical results and leads to a sharp answer of “how much elongation is too much”? 1. Plasma Science and Fusion Center, MIT, Cambridge MA 2. Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU, New York City NY 1 1. Introduction It has been known for many years that tokamak performance, as measured by pressure and energy confinement time, improves substantially as the plasma cross section becomes more elongated. -
A Faster Way to Fusion
A Faster Way to Fusion Tokamak Energy Ltd Company Overview April 2018 © 2017 Tokamak Energy © © 2018 Tokamak Energy Our Mission “To deliver to mankind a cheap, safe, secure and practically limitless source of clean energy – fusion power” © © 2018 Tokamak Energy Overview of Tokamak Energy • Privately funded spin-out from the world leading Culham Centre for Fusion Energy • Engineering Centre at Milton Park, Oxfordshire in a cluster of high tech companies • World class team of over 45 full time scientists and engineers • Collaborations with Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, and Univ of Tokyo • Most downloaded paper ever in Nuclear Fusion Journal authored by Tokamak Energy • 30 families of patents so far focussed around the use of high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets in spherical tokamaks © © 2018 Tokamak Energy The Opportunity A future supply of power independent of fossil fuels The largest addressable market on the planet Fusion is: • Clean – no carbon emissions or long-lived nuclear waste • Safe – inherent safety with no risk of a meltdown • Abundant – plentiful fuel (deuterium and tritium bred from lithium) • Affordable – our work shows that the cost of fusion power can be competitive Investment in fusion has historically been the domain of governments however there is an increasing interest from private investors © © 2018 Tokamak Energy Fusion in a Tokamak A tokamak is a donut-shaped vessel for creating hot plasma • £30 billion invested in tokamaks by governments in last 50 years • Method: magnetically trap a hot plasma in a tokamak and fuse hydrogen nuclei. • Two tokamaks, TFTR at Princeton and JET at Culham, have produced > 10 MW of fusion power © © 2018 Tokamak Energy The Challenge Traditional view for fusion power & tokamaks is that bigger is better (ITER) • Huge investment and timescales to progress Spherical Tokamaks are much more efficient than traditional ‘doughnut’ shape tokamaks. -
Signature Redacted %
EXAMINATION OF THE UNITED STATES DOMESTIC FUSION PROGRAM ARCHW.$ By MASS ACHUSETTS INSTITUTE Lauren A. Merriman I OF IECHNOLOLGY MAY U6 2015 SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING I LIBR ARIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FEBRUARY 2015 Lauren A. Merriman. All Rights Reserved. - The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly Paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part. Signature of Author:_ Signature redacted %. Lauren A. Merriman Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering May 22, 2014 Signature redacted Certified by:. Dennis Whyte Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering I'l f 'A Thesis Supervisor Signature redacted Accepted by: Richard K. Lester Professor and Head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering 1 EXAMINATION OF THE UNITED STATES DOMESTIC FUSION PROGRAM By Lauren A. Merriman Submitted to the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering on May 22, 2014 In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Science and Engineering ABSTRACT Fusion has been "forty years away", that is, forty years to implementation, ever since the idea of harnessing energy from a fusion reactor was conceived in the 1950s. In reality, however, it has yet to become a viable energy source. Fusion's promise and failure are both investigated by reviewing the history of the United States domestic fusion program and comparing technological forecasting by fusion scientists, fusion program budget plans, and fusion program budget history. -
Helicity-Injected Current Drive and Open Flux Instabilities in Spherical
Helicity-injected current drive and open flux instabilities in spherical tokamaks D.P. Brennan1, P.K.Browning2, J. Gates1, R.A.M. Van der Linden3 1 University of Tulsa 2 University of Manchester 3 Royal Observatory of Belgium Presented at the Sherwood Fusion Theory Conference Denver, CO, May 1, 2009 ABSTRACT The toroidal current driven by relaxation processes in a cylindrical spherical tokamak (ST) geometry with coaxial injected flux is estimated by use of the linear ideal stability boundary of equilibria with a high current on the open driven flux and a lower current on the closed flux. Instabilities with toroidal mode number n = 1 have been shown to play a vital role in the helicity injection current drive, being closely associated with the relaxation process which distributes current from a directly driven open flux to a closed flux. Previous results for spheromaks (1D and 2D equilibria) and STs (1D equilibria) have predicted stabilization, for a given open flux current, if the closed flux plasma current is sufficiently large, suggesting that the current drive mechanism is self-limiting. New results presented here for 2D ST equilibria are consistent with the 1D results, but new features appear in the stability maps as the axial length and toroidal field (TF) strength are varied in the equilibria. These include changes in the shape of stability boundaries and the estimated driven current, changes in the mode structure due to equilibrium changes and resonance effects which extend stability boundaries into the stable region. As the minimum and maximum of the safety factor q profile cross integer rational values, the resonant mode is destabilized, causing regions of enhanced instability in the current profile parameter space. -
Written Evidence Submitted by Tokamak Energy Ltd (RFA0076)
Written Evidence Submitted by Tokamak Energy Ltd (RFA0076) If there was a new safe, clean energy technology, based on world-leading expertise in the UK, that could have a major global impact on carbon emissions by the 2030s and be an important source of clean energy for centuries to come… …then we would make every effort to develop the technology quickly in the UK, even if there are great challenges in the technology development, wouldn’t we? The good news is that there is such a technology – fusion energy from compact spherical tokamaks with high temperature superconducting magnets. Summary Fusion can have a huge impact on 2050 carbon targets and can be the main source of safe, clean energy for millennia into the future. The UK has an immediate opportunity to build on its world-leading position in fusion energy research and win the race to deploy the technology Government backing for fusion research remains strong as the commercial opportunities emerge A new UK research funding agency could address the UK’s chronic problem of failing to turn world-leading research into commercial and economic success. Tokamak Energy is building on world-class UK strengths in Fusion Research and Superconducting Magnets Tokamak Energy faces increasing international competition, but is well-placed to maintain and extend its lead Speed of execution is important in radical innovation. We present a new idea, ARPA-BOOST, which can be delivered rapidly and have immediate effect ahead of establishment of a new agency Introduction 1. Tokamak Energy Ltd is a private company that aims to accelerate the development and deployment of fusion energy.