Fusion research has a well defined roadmap leading finally to realization of fusion energy around the middle of this century. Past experiments like in JET, TFTR and JT-60U tokamaks have already produced fusion power close to or just above the break even condition. ITER is going to be the first tokamak to produce power in substantial excess (10 imes) of the input power. This will be followed by the first demonstration electricity producing power plant DEMO around 2035-40 which will add power to the grid. This will be followed by prototype fusion based reactor leading finally to commercial exploitation of fusion energy around 2050.
Main Achievements Required
- Production and Control of long pulse-burning plasma
- Heat and particles exhaust (plasma facing components)
- Test of breeding blanket modules for demo
- Net Electricity Production (full hot breeding blanket)
- High reliability of operations
- Qualification of lower activations materials for PROTO
- Improved economy in electricity production
- Improved low activation materials
- Demonstration of a reference low activitions steel for demo c
- Search for higher performance materials for PROTO
- Demonstration of Safety management
- Demonstration of low environmental impact potential