l      Issues in Fusion Power Development

Fusion power is environmentally benign since it would contribute nothing to the greenhouse effect or to pollution of the atmosphere by acidic emissions.  

Because fusion’s safety is based on inherent and passive features, it will be readily demonstrable to the non-scientist.  Thus fusion is not expected to suffer from problems of public acceptance.

However, it is not yet certain that fusion’s potential can be realised in an acceptably economic form. Determining whether this can be done is the purpose of the world-wide fusion research and development programme. Present indications are that the cost of fusion electricity will be comparable to the cost of fossil-fuel and fission electricity.

The ultimate objective of the fusion research and development program is to bring one or more fusion reactor concepts to the stage at which that concept is sufficiently demonstrated that the energy industry is willing to construct a fusion power station.  The fusion development programme needs to demonstrate:

·         the reliable, controlled operation of a D-T fusion plasma under reactor-relevant conditions;

·         the reliable operation to some significant fraction of their anticipated lifetime of reactor-extrapolatable technologies, components and systems under fusion reactor conditions;

·         the reliable operation of an integrated fusion reactor at availabilities that are extrapolatable to commercial requirements;

·         tritium fuel self-sufficiency;

·         net electrical power production at significant levels (> 100s of MW);

·         the safety of fusion reactors;

·         the feasibility of economically competitive fusion reactors; and

·         the feasibility of environmentally benign fusion reactors.