UK's latest nuclear fusion reactor could supply the grid with clean power by 2030

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Britain's newest fusion reactor has been fired up and taken the world one step further towards generating electricity from the power of the stars.

The heart of the Tokamak ST40 reactor - a super-hot cloud of electrically charged gas, or plasma - is expected to reach a temperature of 100 million centigrade next year.

That is how hot it needs to be to trigger fusion, the joining together of atomic nuclei accompanied by an enormous release of energy.

And by 2030, the reactor will provide clean energy to the UK's national grid, according to its creators Tokamak Energy.

The new reactor was built at Milton Park, Oxfordshire, by Tokamak Energy, a private company pioneering fusion power in the UK.

It is Tokamak Energy's third upgraded reactor and represents the latest step in a five-stage plan to bring fusion power to the national grid by 2030.

Speaking after the ST40 reactor was officially turned on and achieved 'first plasma', Tokamak Energy chief executive Dr David Kingham said: 'Today is an important day for fusion energy development in the UK, and the world.

'We are unveiling the first world-class controlled fusion device to have been designed, built and operated by a private venture.

'The ST40 is a machine that will show fusion temperatures - 100 million degrees - are possible in compact, cost-effective reactors.

'This will allow fusion power to be achieved in years, not decades.'

 

[eidairaman1]

Fusing of 2 protons to make a neutron. Our greatest example is our closest star, the Sun.

Hopefully they can contain critical mass or prevent it, aka to not have something worse happen than Chernobyl or the Japanese Nuclear plant disaster from an Earthquake.

 

[111frodon]

Fusing of 2 protons to make a neutron. Our greatest example is our closest star, the Sun.

Hopefully they can contain critical mass or prevent it, aka to not have something worse happen than Chernobyl or the Japanese Nuclear plant disaster from an Earthquake.

More like fusing two deuterium/tritium/lithium nucleus into an helium nucleus + a tremendous amount of energy and a few neutrons depending on the type of fuel. And there is no such thing as critical mass in thermonuclear reaction, this is fusion and not fission. As soon as it gets below a certain temperature, the fusion just stop. There is no chain reaction to contain and control, only a lot of energy to use and almost no waste.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

That's pretty damn small. Not as small as Lockheed is working towards but still, if that size is viable, it would definitely work in aircraft carriers and other large ships.

 

[alucasa]

Fusing of 2 protons to make a neutron. Our greatest example is our closest star, the Sun.

Fusing two FUD into more ridiculous FUD, the Sun (newspaper?)

 

[Nuckles56]

I honestly don't see it, to produce energy viably with current technology, the reactors have to be very large and that certainly isn't.

 

[techtard]

I remember back 10+ years ago there was talk about fusion R&D in France, or somewhere else in the UK that was supposed to have culminated in mass fusion power by 2020. I wonder how close they've ever gotten and if the viable projects get shut down by big oil.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I think the oil industry has realized they're running out of product for prices people are willing to pay. Their money is mostly going towards natural gas.

 

[Kanan]

This would be a great thing for the world, solving a lot of problems at once. Environmental, energy, waste like radioactive.

 

[64K]

I remember back 10+ years ago there was talk about fusion R&D in France, or somewhere else in the UK that was supposed to have culminated in mass fusion power by 2020. I wonder how close they've ever gotten and if the viable projects get shut down by big oil.

Well, Lockheed Martin is working on it too. They claimed several years ago that they would deliver an economically viable Fusion Reactor Power Plant the size of a truck within 10 years.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/compact-fusion.html?

They seem to think that a smaller design will be easier to develop.
I think they can pull it off but honestly I don't know enough about Fusion Reactors to know what obstacles stand in the way.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

What sort of crazy doomsday device is this and where can i get one?

 

[P4-630]

Reminds me to this one:

 

[Caring1]

Retarded question, but what kind of man made materials are capable of containing 100 million degrees without melting or spontaneously combusting?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Nothing, which is why fusion usually involves some form of energetic containment, usually magnetic.

 

[Kanan]

Fancy video taken from the same website 64k provided:

Scientist explaining the reactor and why it's so small.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Didn't realize they planned on replacing natural gas turbines with fusion reactors. I'd need to see more details on that though because it doesn't make much sense. Natural gas turbines rotate generators directly where fusion reactors are just heat sources. Do they already have plans to make that heat rotate translating it directly into rotational force? Seems unlikely. I wonder if they mean that it can be powered by natural gas or at least initially.

It makes far more sense to replace fission reactors with fusion reactors. Except the heat source, virtually everything else should be reusable. Thing is, nuclear power plants need 100s if not 1000s of megawatts of thermal energy to operate. Lockheed has stated previously they're aiming for 100 MW. The 100 MW figure more closely matches with natural gas turbines than nuclear power. That's the only correlation I can think of.

 

[cdawall]

So how many steps towards nuclear powered cars is this?

 

[dorsetknob]

Well, Lockheed Martin is working on it too. They claimed several years ago that they would deliver an economically viable Fusion Reactor Power Plant the size of a truck within 10 years.

So how many steps towards nuclear powered cars is this?

DARPA would like one the size of a Truck or Smaller as Soon as possible to power Ronnie Regan's Battlefield Deployable Anti missile lasers ect
later on It may Trickle down to Arkham City Car Dealerships

 

[64K]

So how many steps towards nuclear powered cars is this?

Possibly not too far in the future. If fusion power delivers dirt-cheap electricity and battery technology leaps forward immensely from what we have right now. But something will have to happen in the not too distant future because as FordGT90Concept pointed out in #8 oil is finite and eventually we are going to reach a point where it is no longer viable for use as a sensible economical solution for transportation and shipping.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

So how many steps towards nuclear powered cars is this?

Never. You're literally talking about containing a star in a bottle. Stars give off all kinds of nasty radiation which requires shielding. The smallest package we're reasonably going to see it in in the foreseeable future is a semitrailer (with a lot of axels to make it road legal).

Likely deployment path:
-Stationary power stations
-Military ships (DDG-1000 was literally designed for a compact fusion engine)
-Military trucks (used to power laser defense systems in regional hotspots)
-Civilian trains (Union Pacific is going to be all over this as soon as it looks viable).
-Civilian ships (freighters and cruise ships)
-Civilian trucks (as portable generators)

 

[cdawall]

Never. You're literally talking about containing a star in a bottle. Stars give off all kinds of nasty radiation which requires shielding. The smallest package we're reasonably going to see it in in the foreseeable future is a semitrailer (with a lot of axels to make it road legal).

Likely deployment path:
-Stationary power stations
-Military ships (DDG-1000 was literally designed for a compact fusion engine)
-Military trucks (used to power laser defense systems in regional hotspots)
-Civilian trains (Union Pacific is going to be all over this as soon as it looks viable).
-Civilian ships (freighters and cruise ships)
-Civilian trucks (as portable generators)

To be fair the output required for a car is substantially lower. So size to shield such a small reactor it should be a lot more feasible. I just want a 50 year refill time on my car why would you ruin that. The Tesla model S has a 310kW motor and zips, no reason we could have a small reactor to power that and imagine how cool car accidents would be!

 

[FordGT90Concept]

That's the other problem, when a fusion reaction is going, you have to pull the heat off of it or it will destroy itself. Starting a fusion reaction requires a huge amount of energy as well (only electromagnets are strong enough to contain it) so start/stop operation isn't exactly viable.

It may happen eventually but I'm positive it won't be in my lifetime.

 

[dont whant to set it"']

It may happen eventually but I'm positive it won't be in my lifetime.

"pessimist"?
Reading it as being an UK project I wouldn't be surprised they say it's they'r invention, then after saying they imported it before they'r own and then after saying it was invented by someone else(non UK citizen)[periodic table of videos-aspirin] man was I drunk or how did I get it that way?.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

"pessimist"?
Reading it as being an UK project I wouldn't be surprised they say it's they'r invention, then after saying they imported it before they'r own and then after saying it was invented by someone else(non UK citizen)[periodic table of videos-aspirin] man was I drunk or how did I get it that way?.

after reading your post i wish a Brit hadnt invented the WWW.

 

[dorsetknob]

man was I drunk or how did I get it

Drunks should post in the lounge and not the main Section
here for your Drunk posting
https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/forums/the-lounge.10/