From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry Update March 2024

Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:

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PPPL awards contract for fusion development

The Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory has awarded an engineering support services contract for the development of fusion energy to a consortium of business partners led by AtkinsRéalis that includes Jacobs Technology and Longenecker and Associates. The contract has a base period of three years with two optional years and a ceiling value of $50 million. Services to be provided under the agreement include design of future upgrades for the National Spherical Torus Experiment–Upgrade (NSTX-U, the main fusion experiment at PPPL); design and fabrication of plasma diagnostic and heating subsystems for ITER (the international fusion facility being constructed in France); conceptual design of electricity-generating fusion plants; and development of physics and technology advances for improving the economics of fusion plants. Another partner that will support this contract is the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, for which AtkinsRéalis has been working on stage 1 of the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) program.