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60 Years of U: Perspectives on resources, demand, and the evolving role of nuclear energy
Recent years have seen growing global interest in nuclear energy and rising confidence in the sector. For the first time since the early 2000s, there is renewed optimism about the industry’s future. This change is driven by several major factors: geopolitical developments that highlight the need for secure energy supplies, a stronger focus on resilient energy systems, national commitments to decarbonization, and rising demand for clean and reliable electricity.
J. D. Galambos, L. John Perkins
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 25 | Number 2 | March 1994 | Pages 176-181
Technical Paper | Fusion Reactor | doi.org/10.13182/FST94-A30266
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
If the next-step International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is designed to operate at finite energy multiplication (Q ∼ 10 to 20), as opposed to ignition (Q ∼ ∞), appreciable reductions in size and cost will result. Ignition will be attainable in such a “high-Q targeted” device under slightly enhanced confinement conditions. For example, with the nominal design guidelines from the ITER Conceptual Design Activity (CDA), designing for Q = 15 instead of ignition results in ∼20% savings in size and cost. Ignition would still be achievable in such a reduced-size device if the L-mode energy confinement enhancement factor (i.e., H factor) is ∼15% higher than the assumed nominal value of 2.0. This size/cost impact is large compared to other sensitivities, and the range of H-fact or improvement needed to recoup ignition is small compared to the uncertainty in the confinement scalings themselves.