Researchers achieve exciting breakthrough in pursuit of limitless energy: 'We could have modeled this before but not with this level of accuracy'

Simulations have revealed new breakthroughs in temperature management for the "super-high-field advanced reactor concept" fusion reactor, advancing this sustainable, carbon-free energy project toward commercialization. 

SPARC, one of many fusion projects in development, is a public-private partnership including Commonwealth Fusion Systems, the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and General Atomics, as detailed by Innovation News Network. 

Using computational code from PPPL called M3D-C1, researchers have fine-tuned a gas-injection system to manage the extreme temperatures within the project's doughnut-shaped tokamak reactor.

Fusion promises a source of nearly limitless energy by mimicking the processes powering the stars, including our sun. Atoms (usually hydrogen atoms) in a plasma fuse at incredibly high temperatures, releasing energy in the process, but since Earth has weaker gravitational forces, we need to use temperatures hotter than the core of the sun, as the International Atomic Energy Agency detailed.

Given the intense heat, the superheated plasma inside a reactor needs to be managed effectively. If that plasma gets disrupted, it needs to be cooled down quickly in order to prevent damage to the device, as PPPL explained. 

Through M3D-C1 code simulations, the researchers found that six valves spaced around the reactor, with three at the top and three below, help provide optimal protection against damage while maximizing valuable interior space.

"We don't currently have any material that can withstand the power per area that may be deposited during such an event," said Andreas Kleiner, the study's lead author and a staff research scientist at PPPL.

"If there is no management of these events, the heat that is ejected toward the first wall can melt it."

Each simulation takes weeks to run, even on the team's powerful exascale computers, and it's run through a variety of configurations already to reach this specific conclusion. 

"These are the most comprehensive disruption simulations that had been done to that point," said PPPL deputy head of theory Nate Ferraro, who co-authored the study. 

"We could have modeled this before but not with this level of accuracy," Kleiner added.

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Although fusion is still primarily theoretical, it could eventually change the face of energy production on the planet. Just 132 pounds of Earth-abundant, hydrogen-rich fuels, such as deuterium and tritium, are the energy equivalent of over 300,000 tons of petrol, as Fusion For Energy explained. 

If achieved, fusion could help cut energy costs for consumers and be the perfect complement for solar, wind, and other sustainable sources, helping us to achieve our climate goals and reduce planet-warming carbon pollution. 

CFS plans to build on this breakthrough for a future endeavor: the world's first grid-scale fusion power plant, called ARC, located in Chesterfield County, Virginia. 

By 2030, the company plans to provide "400 megawatts of clean, zero-carbon power that'll help meet the state's growing demand for electricity," which should be enough to power 150,000 homes or supply large industrial or commercial customers, per CFS.

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