Synergies and conflicts between safety and economic objectives forfusion: implications for fusion development strategies

摘要

The paramount reason for pursuing fusion R&D is that fusionpower stations potentially have major safety and environmentaladvantages over alternatives for bulk electricity generation. However,these advantages must be secured in an economically acceptable form.Discusses the safety, environmental and economic objectives for fusion,and considers how they might best be reconciled and achieved. The mainresults of the SEAFP study are briefly presented. The fundamentalreasons for the very favourable results are explained, distinguishingbetween results stemming from generic factors, and results which mightalter as a result of design changes. Systems code calculations are usedto assess the broad design features which improve economic performance.Scoping calculations are given which indicate the changes in S&Eperformance which would arise from design changes made to improveeconomic performance. The changes which improve both S&E andeconomic performances, those that improve economics without significantimpact on S&E and vice versa, and those that remove the potentialfor significant conflicts between economic and S&E objectives, arenoted. The implications of the above for the definition of attractivefusion demonstration power plants (DEMOs), and for the plasma physicsand technology R&D programmes leading up to these, are discussed