FPN22-26

DIII-D 5-Year Proposed Research Plan Available

May 31, 2022

General Atomics has prepared a public document that summarizes the present state of the DIII-D 5-Year Research Plan covering 2024 - 2029. The final proposal will be submitted to DOE in September. These plans are generated by the User base, which includes personnel from all participating organizations. Still, the fusion energy research community is growing rapidly, and General Atomics wants to make sure that the wider range of DIII-D applicability is considered.

The document is available at the link below,

https://fusion.gat.com/global/_media/diii-d/d3d-5yp-consult.pdf

The first section of the document states:

This document provides an outline of the DIII-D National Fusion Facility Research Plan to be proposed for 2024 through 2029. The final proposed plan will be submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in September 2022, which will begin the formal DOE review process. As a DOE Office of Science User Facility, DIII-D serves the national interest and the fusion energy research targets of the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences program. The program is interested in views and ideas from across the U.S. fusion community, including public and private sector partners. Like all other Office of Science User Facilities, DIII-D is open to all interested potential users without regard to nationality or institutional affiliation.

The DIII-D 5-Year Research Plan is generated through a process of input from the User base and DOE. Consistent with the wider needs of the U.S. fusion energy program, this outline of the Plan is intended to allow feedback from prospective Users and others who participate in the development of fusion energy. Prospective Users are encouraged to submit comments on this outlined Plan, and to propose new or additional ideas. Some ideas might embed well within the Plan, and be performed under the Plan, but it is also possible to propose other activities that could use many of DIII-D platform capabilities to advance the path to commercial fusion.

Throughout the proposed Plan for the next period of performance, the facility seeks to close gaps in the design of a Fusion Pilot Plant, advance fusion materials and technology, and ensure that the ITER project is successful and that U.S. researchers are able to participate effectively. The sections below represent the research and governance areas covered by the Plan. A broad summary of each area is provided, supplemented by appendices that list specific facility capability improvements.

Over the experimental campaign of fiscal year 2021, over 400 professionals engaged directly in DIII-D research, with 230 performing their work on-site. The program presently features 50 graduate students and 41 postdoctoral scholars.

Information about DIII-D resources and capability: https://fusion.gat.com/global/diii-d/home

For further information contact:

David Pace
Deputy Director
DIII-D National Fusion Facility
pacedc@fusion.gat.com