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Explore crucial R&D areas, data needs, and facilities for transitioning to a functional power plant from ITER. Discuss the impact of R&D on product attractiveness and strategies for prioritization. Evaluate the necessity and composition of an advisory committee in navigating the fusion program's future. Engage senior fusion experts for review and consensus-building. Address challenges in transitioning to actionable plans.
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Whither the ARIES Industrial Advisory Committee? ARIES Meeting 21 Januay, 2009
ARIES Charter is unchanged: What do we need to do to go from ITER to an attractive power plant? • What are the remaining major R&D areas? • What are the data bases needed to field a commercial power plant (e.g., licensing, operation, reliability, etc.)? • What is the impact of each R&D item on the attractiveness of the final product. (metrics for prioritization of R&D). • Which of the remaining major R&D areas can be explored in existing devices or simulation facilities (i.e., fission reactors)? • What other major facilities are needed (CTF, Fast track, etc.) • What are the possible embodiments for CTF and what are the their cost/performance attributes. These are detailed technical issues, not general policy issues or technology acceptance issues to which outside advisors could meaningfully contribute
Logical Questions: • Can an advisory committee be useful to ARIES Pathways? • No. Outside advisors aren’t knowledgeable enough to be of value. • Do we need an advisory committee enough to spend the time, effort and money necessary to make it happen? • No. • What type of committee do we need? • Outside utility/industry types? No. • Inside senior guru types? Maybe as reviewers of our final recommendations. • Has DOE weighed in on any of this? • ?? • What do we want a committee to do? • At most, we could use knowledgeable fusion experts to review our recommendations. • How do we get from where we are now (with an IAC of outside folks, but one that's dead in the water) to where we want to go? • Thank the IAC for their help • When we have something to review, ask a few senior fusion folks to review it
ARIES doesn’t need an Advisory Committee -- but Fusion may…. • ARIES knows what to do and how to do it to complete our task • We could -- should -- get senior fusion folks in to review our results (before they’re cast in stone) • The challenge is implementing our conclusions • How do we get the Fusion Program, the DOE and indeed the Nation off of dead center to do what ARIES can plan? • Wait for an external event? • Enlist Dale’s “ARIES Program Advisory Committee of Energy Policy Makers” to help develop a community consensus (ala High Energy Physics) and then a national mandate for doing the first steps ARIES has defined?
Could ARIES lead the development of a consensus to take the next steps? • ARIES has helped the fusion community to accept promising technical directions • Can we convince the fusion program players to adopt our recommended path forward? • Any plan will not satisfy everyone • Real progress will need real money • Could an “ARIES Program Advisory Committee of Energy Policy Makers” help? • The task is daunting • Competition with nearer term energy sources • Is fusion ready to move faster than ITER? • Could we get the fusion community to agree? • Does DOE want our help?