Fusion:
The Energy Source for the XXI Century
Mohamed Abdou
Distinguished Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
Director, Center for Energy Science and Technology Advanced Research (CESTAR)
Director, Fusion Science and Technology Center
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Keynote Remarks presented at the 9th International Cairo Conference on Energy and Environment
What is Nuclear Fusion?
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Nuclear Fusion is the energy-producing process taking place in the core of
the Sun and stars
The core temperature of the Sun is about 15 million °C. At these
temperatures hydrogen nuclei fuse to give Helium and Energy. The
energy sustains life on Earth via sunlight
The World, particularly in developing
countries, needs a New Energy Source
• Growth in world population and growth in energy demand from
increased industrialisation/affluence will lead to an Energy Gap which will
be increasingly difficult to fill with fossil fuels
• Without improvements in efficiency we will need 80% more energy by 2020
• Even with efficiency improvements at the limit of technology we would still
need 40% more energy
ITER
• The World is about to construct the next
step in fusion development, a device
called ITER
• ITER will demonstrate the scientific and
technological feasibility of fusion energy
for peaceful purposes
• ITER will produce 500 MW of fusion power
• Cost, including R&D, is 15 billion dollars
ITER Design - Main Features
Central
Solenoid
Outer Intercoil
Structure
Blanket
Module
Vacuum Vessel
Cryostat
Toroidal Field Coil
Port Plug (IC Heating
Poloidal Field Coil
Divertor
Machine Gravity Supports
Torus Cryopump
ITER is a collaborative effort among Europe,
Japan, US, Russia, China and South Korea
ITER Location
Caradache (France)
Rokkasho (Japan)
Summary
• The D-T Fusion process offers the promise of:
– Virtually unlimited energy source from cheap abundant fuels;
– No atmospheric pollution of greenhouse and acid rain gases;
– Low radioactive burden from waste for future generations.
• Tremendous Progress has been achieved over the past
decades in plasma physics and fusion technology.
• Fusion R&D involves many challenging areas of physics
and technologies and is carried out through extensive
international collaboration
• EU, JA, USA, RF, PRC, Korea are about to construct
ITER to demonstrate the scientific and technological
feasibility of fusion energy (ITER will produce 500MW of
fusion power and the project total cost is about $15B)