STILL SCIENCE FICTION

Tokamak Energy Announces Triple Product on the Path to Commercial Fusion Energy – Presented at the American Physical Society Plasma Physics Conference

• Jacquireid 
• 21 October 2022 
• In Press Release

Tokamak Energy today announces that its ST40 spherical tokamak has achieved a triple product¹ result of 6×10¹⁸ keV.s.m^-3. This result was achieved earlier this year at a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius, the threshold required for commercial fusion energy, in a spherical tokamak with a plasma volume of less than one cubic meter; 15 times less volume than any other tokamak which has achieved this temperature.

The triple product achieved is the highest by a private fusion energy company.  Triple product¹ is a widely recognised fusion industry measure of plasma density, temperature and confinement, collectively a key measure of progress in the path to realising commercial fusion conditions.  The company has been invited to present the results today at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Plasma Physics in Washington, USA.

Chris Kelsall, CEO of Tokamak Energy said: “High performance in smaller spherical tokamaks is the key to commercial fusion power.  Our latest achievement further substantiates this optimal route to clean, secure, low cost, scalable and globally deployable commercial fusion energy.  We are proud to have achieved this result in collaboration with the Princeton and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.”

The ST40 spherical tokamak is now undergoing an upgrade and will further develop operational experience and efficient technologies for future devices which the company will be announcing soon.

 

NOTE

¹triple product (nT𝝉_E) Any device that is going to make fusion energy a commercial reality requires a plasma (an ionized gas of charged particles / hydrogen nuclei) with a high triple product. nT𝝉_E is a widely recognized measure of progress towards commercial fusion.  There are three plasma conditions that must be met simultaneously:

1. Temperature – is the device capable of heating the plasma so that the particles move fast enough to fuse with each other when they collide?
2. Density – can the device contain a dense enough plasma so that plenty of collisions occur?
3. Confinement – can the device keep the charged particles within the plasma for long enough to sustain the fusion reaction?

https://www.euro-fusion.org/fusion/history-of-fusion

History of Fusion - EUROfusion 

However, the science and physics of nuclear fusion started becoming clear only in the 1920s when British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington suggested that ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_nuclear_fusion

History of nuclear fusion - Wikipedia 

The history of nuclear fusion began early in the 20th century as an inquiry into how stars powered themselves and expanded to incorporate a broad inquiry ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion

Nuclear fusion - Wikipedia 

The opposite is true for the reverse process, called nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion uses lighter elements, such as hydrogen and helium, which are in general ...

https://www.iter.org/mag/3/29

Who 'invented' fusion? - ITER 

By the eve of World War II, the theoretical framework for fusion was established. Fundamental science still needed to be explored (and the exploration was to ...

https://www.lppfusion.com/technology/brief-history-of-fusion-power

Brief History of Fusion Power - LPPFusion 

In the 1930's scientists, particularly Hans Bethe, discovered that nuclear fusion was possible and that it was the energy source for the sun. Beginning in ...

https://www.energy.gov/science/doe-explainsnuclear-fusion-reactions

DOE Explains...Nuclear Fusion Reactions - Department of Energy 

Nuclear Fusion reactions power the Sun and other stars. In a fusion reaction, two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. The process releases ...

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/what-is-nuclear-fusion

What is nuclear fusion | IAEA 

Mar 31, 2022 ... Ever since the theory of nuclear fusion was understood in the 1930s, scientists — and increasingly also engineers — have been on a quest to ...

http://butane.chem.uiuc.edu/pshapley/genchem1/l1/web-l1.pdf

Fusion and the Beginning of the Universe The Big Bang 

To 3 significant figures, neutrons and protons have the same mass. We give the name atomic mass unit (amu) to the mass of one of these nuclear particles.

https://cen.acs.org/articles/94/i44/Cold-fusion-died-25-years.html

Cold fusion died 25 years ago, but the research lives on - C&EN 

Nov 7, 2016 ... This story line is a common refrain for the researchers and companies involved. It all got started in 1989, when electrochemists Martin ...

https://www.science.org/content/article/fusion-power-may-run-fuel-even-gets-started

Fusion power may run out of fuel before it even gets started - Science 

Jun 23, 2022 ... Some of fusion's fitfulness is innate to the design of doughnut-shaped tokamak reactors. The magnetic field that confines the ultrahot, energy- ...