Inertial Fusion Power Plant - IFE Projects

IFE Projects

Several projects of inertial fusion power plants have been proposed, notably power production plans based on the following experimental devices, either in operation or under construction:

• in the United States, the National Ignition Facility (laser confinement) and Z machine (z-pinch confinement) experiments;
• in France, the Megajoule laser experiment;
• in Japan (Osaka University), the KONGOH experiment (laser confinment).

As may be noted, only first two of these projects is based on z-pinch confinement, all others being based on laser confinement techniques.

The various phases of such a project are the following:

• burning demonstration: reproducible achievement of energy release.
• high gain demonstration: experimental demonstration of the feasibility of a reactor with a sufficient energy gain.
• industrial demonstration: validation of the various technical options, and of the whole data needed to define a commercial reactor.
• commercial demonstration: demonstration of the reactor ability to work over a long period, while respecting all the requirements for safety, liability and cost.

At the moment, according to the available data, inertial confinement fusion experiments have not gone beyond the first phase, as well for laser (although it is strongly expected to reach the objectives of the second phase around 2010, when NIF and Megajoule are complete) as for z-pinch (Z machine); these techniques should now demonstrate their ability to obtain a high fusion energy gain, as well as their capability for repetitive working.