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Advancing Inertial Fusion Energy: NNSA's Strategic Approach

Explore NNSA's progress in Inertial Confinement Fusion and the path towards Inertial Fusion Energy, key developments, benefits, and important questions for future planning.

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Advancing Inertial Fusion Energy: NNSA's Strategic Approach

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  1. The National Academy of SciencesStockpile StewardshipInertial Confinement Fusion, Science, and Advanced Simulation and Computing Campaigns – What about Inertial Fusion Energy? Dr. Chris Deeney, Assistant Deputy Administrator for Stockpile Stewardship Office of Stockpile Stewardship, NA-11 December 16, 2010

  2. NNSA Program Management Assessment of Ignition • Great progress is being made on NIF • JASON appropriately highlighted the technical challenge • Layered capsule implosions are underway • The present execution plan will have D-T experimental studies in early FY12 • Other ICF concepts are also making progress • Direct drive at Omega and Polar drive on NIF have produced excellent results • Pulsed Power has made progress with various Direct drive and Indirect drive designs Omega Laser Facility NIF Z Pulsed Power

  3. Future ICF Strategy • Post-NIC, delivery to the Stockpile Stewardship Program, including uses of ignition will be a focus • We plan to maintain all our HEDP premier facilities as well as intermediate scale laser and pulsed power facilities • We will maintain an investment in next generation / advanced fusion concepts • Shock- and fast-ignition, indirect drive with green, direct-drive, and pulsed-power fusion can be studied to achieve higher outputs and gain • There will be balanced but smaller investments compared to the drive for ignition and the balance and level of investment will be informed by stewardship experimental needs

  4. Benefits to NNSA of an IFE Program • Intellectual vitality • Parallels the goals of our academic alliance program • Challenges science, technology and engineering at the laboratories • System solutions with multidisciplinary science, technology and engineering is what we do • Technology benefits • Investments in ignition concepts • Radiation hardness and materials in extreme environments are synergistic with many missions • Capsule and driver technologies will improve our facilities and/or reduce costs for future facilities

  5. Opinions / Questions/Guidance needed from this panel • The NNSA ICF program management believes and demands technical competition in ICF and would want this in a future IFE program – is this true? • The IFE program should start broadly then focus over time • Questions • How broadly? • How long to technology down select? • How to maintain a back-up concept after down select? • Driver technologies are probably equally important to other issues • What other challenges are important (targets, first wall materials, tritium breeding, servicing and other operational issus)? • Which can the Government invest in to get broad benefit, especially for energy missions? • What metrics (hopefully feasibility and economics driven) can be used to inform downselects in the future?

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