1. CCFE is the fusion research arm of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Fusion – in our grasp? IMechE East Midlands branch Tuesday 22 May 2012 Chris Warrick Culham Centre for Fusion Energy

2. World population World population and energy demand growing rapidly Predictions suggest strong growth will continue

3. Present annual consumption per person USA12.5 TCE Europe6.0 TCE China1.4 TCE India0.7 TCE Energy consumption

4. Fossil Fuels All-world conventional oil production will peak in 5-15 years Gas will likely peak around 2020 - World total hydrocarbon shortage perhaps as early as 2010 GLOBAL WARMING Global Warming …

5. Renewables (wind, wave, solar, hydro) are an attractive option and offer long term, clean energy reserves However : Low energy density. Fluctuates in time requiring storage systems. Renewables

6. Nuclear Fission Long lived radioactive waste products (many thousands of years) that require transportation and re-processing. Public concerns on safety. Nuclear Fission offers a proven alternative but is not without its own problems

7. FUSION … The combined mass of the two small nuclei is greater than the mass of the nucleus they produce The extra mass is changed into energy -...occurs when two light nuclei are forced together, producing a larger nucleus and a neutron. E = mc 2

8. Fusion powers the Sun Gravity confines the plasma in the Sun To overcome strong repulsive forces, fusion nuclei require very high energies - matter becomes a … PLASMA

9. Plasmas around us

10. The Lawson Criterion  High density (n)  High temperature (T)  High Confinement (  E ) nT  E > 3x10 21 m -3 keVs

11. Magnetic fields

12. Early research – 1940s Alan Ware, Thomson Imperial College. R=25cm a=3cm Peter Thonemann and Sir George Thomson

13. The Tokamak …

14. Culham Science Centre JET and scientific companies MAST

15. The JET Tokamak

16. A JET Plasma

17. Progress on JET

18. Remote Handling

20. Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak MAST

21. A MAST plasma Temperature ~ 15million o C

22. A MAST plasma

23. The plasma edge

24. The Next Step - ITER

25. ITER Construction costs €14.4 Billion Construction in Cadarache - France Construction began in 2007/8 Operation in late 2019

26. ITER construction

27. A Fusion Powerplant Lithium blanket captures energetic neutrons from the fusion process and : Extracts heat – to drive steam turbine. Breeds Tritium.

28. Advantages of Fusion … Fusion has little or no environmental impact Fusion does not produce any ‘long-lived’ radioactive waste There is no risk of critical safety events e.g. ‘meltdown’ The fuels are abundant Deuterium is freely available in ….