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The US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science has awarded a three-year contract to US-based General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) to develop a scalable, cost-competitive path to manufacture silicon carbide (SiC) and SiC composite foam materials for advanced fusion power plants.

Date: Saturday, 03 February 2024
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsgeneral-atomics-to-develop-silicon-carbide-materials-for-fusion-power-plants-11483120

Opening the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 29th Fusion Energy Conference (FEC 2023) in London, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi began by wishing a happy 40th anniversary to the Joint European Torus (JET) which operates at Culham near Oxford. Jet was “the first tritium experiment in Europe, breaker of scientific records, producer of generations of accomplished scientists and engineers, and a true magnet for international collaboration,” he said.

Date: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiaeas-29th-fusion-energy-conference-attracts-2000-participants-11224380

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, during the opening day of the 29th IAEA Fusion Energy Conference (FEC) in London, launched the World Fusion Outlook (WFO), a new regular publication providing authoritative information and updates on fusion energy. It is expected to become a global reference for energy R&D, technology development and prospective deployment of fusion.

Date: Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiaea-launches-world-fusion-outlook-2023-11224436

South Korea has begun preparations to begin building a nuclear fusion reactor after 2035. It aims to produce electric power around 2050 in a bid to keep up with the intensifying international competition for the future clean and limitless energy, the Ministry of Science, Information & Communication Technology said.

Date: Thursday, 02 March 2023
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newssouth-korea-plans-to-build-fusion-reactor-after-2035-10638362

New report highlights current opportunities for progress in commercialisation of the technology The UK has shortlisted five sites as the potential future home of the country’s first prototype fusion energy plant. Courtesy UKAEA. Capital costs for the development of a new generation of nuclear fusion reactors are high at around £100/MWh, but a substantial programme of standard build could bring them down to a viable target of £60-£70/MWh, a report published by engineering group Assystem says.

According to the report, which examines the potential for fusion in the UK, the government has estimated the 2040 levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) for the UK for standalone offshore wind, onshore wind and large-scale solar of £40/MWh, £44/MWh and £33/MWh respectively.

The £60-£70/MWh cost for fusion “provides the first target for nuclear fusion to be economically competitive”, the report concludes. It says fusion is uncompetitive today with other low-carbon options available in the UK – including wind and light-water nuclear fission reactors. The reason for this is the combination of a relatively high construction cost (£5,887/kWe) and a low capacity factor (56%).

The International Energy Agency has put the LCOE for advanced nuclear at $63/MWh (about £45/MWh).

With an improved, large fusion design the construction cost decreases to £4,135/kWe and the capacity factor to 75%. These two effects improve the fusion economics, decreasing the LCOE into the range £60 to £97/MWh. For a small fusion design, the energy cost of 75 units is in the region of £69- £99/MWh – a range that is comparable to 10 units of large fusion reactors and also the energy cost of LWR fission reactors.

Date: Saturday, 23 October 2021
Original article: nucnet.org/news/capital-costs-are-high-but-can-be-reduced-to-economically-competitive-level-10-4-2021

The European Commission (EC) on 2 July adopted the Euratom Work Programme 2021-2022, implementing the Euratom Research and Training Programme 2021-2025. The Work Programme outlines the objectives and specific topic areas, which will receive €300 million in funding. These investments will support fusion research, and help to foster progress in a wide range of areas, from further improving nuclear safety and radiation protection, to boosting non-power applications of nuclear technology. The Work Programme contributes to the EU's efforts to further develop technological leadership and promote excellence in nuclear research and innovation. This year’s calls have a particular focus on the medical field, directly supporting the priorities of the EU’s Beating Cancer Action Plan and the SAMIRA Action Plan.

Date: Friday, 09 July 2021
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newseuratom-programme-receives-300-million-for-fusion-research-8879362

The UK government announced this week its invitation to local communities to put forward proposals to host the country's prototype fusion energy power plant. The successful site will be home to the construction of STEP - the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production - that is targeted for completion by 2040. At a media briefing ahead of the government's announcement, Professor Ian Chapman, CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, explained why this is an exciting prospect for the whole world.

Date: Saturday, 05 December 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Speech-The-search-for-a-UK-home-for-the-world-s-fi

South Korea’s National Fusion Research Institute (NFRI) on 24 November announced that the K-STAR fusion reactor had managed to operate the plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds – the world’s first nuclear fusion reactor to have maintained plasma for more than 10 seconds at that temperature.

Date: Friday, 04 December 2020
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsanother-plasma-record-for-koreas-fusion-researchers-8391022