English

Opportunities in Pulsed Magnetic Fusion Energy

Plasma Physics 2024-08-28 v1

Abstract

Fusion is a potentially transformational energy technology, which promises limitless clean energy. Yet, it requires continued scientific and technological development to realize its potential. The conditions necessary for fusion energy gain in terms of the product of plasma pressure PP and confinement time τ\tau have been known for many decades. An underappreciated fact is that pulsed magnetic fusion has demonstrated PτP \tau performance on par with laser-driven ICF and tokamaks despite receiving only a small fraction of investment relative to those concepts. In light of this demonstrated performance, well-established scaling relations, and opportunities for further innovations, here we advocate for pulsed magnetic fusion as the most attractive path towards commercialization of fusion energy.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2408.15206,
  title  = {Opportunities in Pulsed Magnetic Fusion Energy},
  author = {C. Leland Ellison and Vincent Garcia and Matthew Gomez and Gary P. Grim and Jim H. Hammer and Christopher A. Jennings and Patrick Knapp and Keith R. LeChien and Nathan Meezan and Robert Peterson and Adam Reyes and Adam Steiner and William A. Stygar and Petros Tzeferacos and Dale Welch and Alex Zylstra},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2408.15206},
  year   = {2024}
}