New stellarator design could accelerate fusion research by staying ‘on’ all the time
Renaissance Fusion aims to design, build, and commercialize a fusion power-plant based on stellarator, HTS, and liquid metal technologies.
A France-based company is using stellarator technology to accelerate fusion research in Europe. Renaissance Fusion is building stellarators that it claims could be the most efficient, steady, and stable fusion reactors on Earth.
There are several approaches that are close to demonstrating net fusion electricity generation.
Laser fusion compresses a capsule to very high pressures by means of powerful lasers. In contrast, tokamaks and stellarators, which are doughnut-shaped devices, magnetically levitate hot ionized gases (plasmas) and heat them to temperatures hotter than the sun.
Simplifying the stellarator
The company maintains that with unique High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) magnets and liquid metal shields, it brings stellarators out of the lab and onto the grid.
“To meet net zero emissions goals, a safe, abundant, 24/7 energy source is needed to complement renewables and storage. Fusion is that source,” said Renaissance Fusion.
The company stressed that in the process of simplifying the stellarator, it also simplifies the manufacturing of high-temperature superconductors (HTS).
This is a relatively new class of materials, allowing the generation of strong magnetic fields and thus enabling more compact and affordable fusion devices. It is typically a very lengthy and expensive process, but the company has accelerated it, according to Innovation News Network.
Stellarators can stay “on” all the time
The French firm maintains that stellarator heating exhibits superior efficiency: delivering 1 kWh to the plasma consumes 2-3 kWh of electricity in a stellarator, compared to over 100 kWh in laser fusion.
Another advantage is that stellarators can stay “on” all the time, whereas high-power lasers are pulsed and have low repetition rates, claimed Renaissance Fusion.
Instead of relying on plasma currents like tokamaks, stellarators confine the plasma through specially shaped 3D magnetic fields. Historically, this has resulted in complex coils with expensive and time-consuming design, modeling, and manufacturing processes, according to the company.
Fusion power plant based on the stellarator
Renaissance Fusion aims to design, construct, and commercialize a fusion power plant based on the stellarator, HTS and liquid metal technologies, on time to contribute solving the climate crisis caused by carbon emissions.
The company claims that the heat from the fusion reactions is mostly carried by neutrons and captured by plasma-facing liquid metal wall.
Only High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) can generate the high magnetic fields needed to make fusion smaller and cheaper. The benefits are impressive: a 4x increase in magnetic field reduces the plasma volume by 256x, according to Renaissance Fusion.
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