FPN11-06
Inertial Fusion Community Presents Common Views to NAS Committee
January 31, 2011
At the January 29-31 meeting of the National Academies' Committee
reviewing the prospects for inertial fusion as an energy source, the
various institutions working in the field presented a set of unanimous
opinions to the committee, while still outlining a variety of detailed
technology pathways to the final goal. The presentations are being
posted on the FIRE web site as they become available at:
http://fire.pppl.gov/icf_nas_review_2010.html
The common view, as presented to the committee, is as follows:
- Demonstration of laboratory ignition will establish that the physics underpinning IFE exploitation is fundamentally sound.
- IFE is a field in which the US is a clear world leader—academically, technologically and industrially.
- We have an opportunity to capitalize on this leadership position over the next few years and leverage prior substantial defense program investment.
- Recent action by the DOE to propose a new IFE development program and secure a stable home for IFE is timely and very welcome.
- Moving forward, the IFE program must focus on the requirements of an operating power plant, with design choices managed at a systems level.
- The inherent modularity and separability of IFE provides significant benefits when considering power plant development, operations, and evolution.
- Taking advantage of significant prior research, future development activities in this program must include IFE-scale science and technology development and demonstration.
- IFE is a national-scale program requiring a coordinated effort by academic, laboratory, and industrial partners
- A phased program with competition and unambiguous selection criteria is needed.