Comments
wwarnout t1_ivwfot3 wrote
If it's based on tritium, they have to overcome the problem of a severe tritium shortage (something like 25 kg is all that exists).
Other than that, get back to us in 30 years.
redmechan46 t1_ivwzjs0 wrote
Isn't trituim a byproduct of nuclear reactors. The US gov has been burying waste since the late 60s so there should be more than that in the US alone. Granted digging it up would be a pain but worth it for the future of clean energy and energy independence.
FishMichigan t1_ivzirtk wrote
Tritium has leaked into the ground water around a lot of nuclear plants in the USA.
urmomaisjabbathehutt t1_ivyb2f4 wrote
It will be also a byporoduct of the fusion itself by using lithium blankets in the containmet chamber too
there are issues but they know it and did take into consideration how much tritium there is
It isn't as if they just found out of the blue and didn't thought about it before spending all the money into their designs
[deleted] t1_ivydhd0 wrote
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ItsAConspiracy t1_iw6y3u5 wrote
Any production D-T fusion reactor would breed its own tritium from lithium. Doing this effectively has been a major part of fusion research for a long time now. Generally the idea is to have a breeding blanket with lithium plus a neutron multiplier like beryllium or lead. In some designs that material doubles as the primary coolant.
[deleted] t1_ivwcrow wrote
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UloseGenrLkenobi t1_ivwd2ir wrote
Let's just hope this doesn't set the rest of the state on fire due to poor maintenance and neglect. Wouldn't want those going the way of the power lines...js
FuturologyBot t1_ivweb3z wrote
The following submission statement was provided by /u/bitfriend6:
Since there's been New Fusion News every week since the 50s I'll elaborate on why I consider this to be different:
San Diego -based General Atomics is partnering with the Savanah River Natl. Lab in South Carolina to build a fusion reactor. This is due to the SRNL's existing experience with tritium-based radioactive gas used as fuel in a fusion reation while General Atomics is one of the contractors for yet-to-be-completed ITER, and this project will use designs evolved from ITER. The SVRNL will help them design and test all the parts needed for the plant and then assist with building one, including site selection. The site selection is notable because South Carolina is one of the biggest nuclear states in the US, having sparred several times with the Obama and Trump administrations over Nevada's refusal to take their nuclear waste. South Carolina is generally supportive of nuclear power, as is nearby Georgia and Tennessee, where work on the Watts Bar 2 and Vogtle 2 reactors has recently completed - "recently" in nuclear contracting terms. The supply chain elements for a fusion reactor like engineers, materials, labor and concrete all exist in these places and there is a no aggressive environmentalist movement like California's Sierra Club to stop construction. Adjacent to this are smaller Small Modular Reactor fission reactors planned for the Oak Ridge National Lab, and conceivably that would be an ideal site as a fusion reaction needs a lot of power to start it (similar to a diesel motor and compressed air or a gasoline motor with electric spark plugs).
Whether or not the plant actually works is anyone's guess, but there's other uses for a fusion reactor namely QA testing nuclear bomb components. This is what the US government's existing non-commercial fusor does in Livermore, California. Biden is already upgrading all the national labs for next-generation energy research, including new supercomputers capable of managing a fusion reactor, so this comes at an opportune time and will probably be built.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/yry6z1/san_diego_company_plans_to_build_a_nuclear_fusion/ivw9lgm/
bitfriend6 OP t1_ivw9lgm wrote
Since there's been New Fusion News every week since the 50s I'll elaborate on why I consider this to be different:
San Diego -based General Atomics is partnering with the Savanah River Natl. Lab in South Carolina to build a fusion reactor. This is due to the SRNL's existing experience with tritium-based radioactive gas used as fuel in a fusion reation while General Atomics is one of the contractors for yet-to-be-completed ITER, and this project will use designs evolved from ITER. The SVRNL will help them design and test all the parts needed for the plant and then assist with building one, including site selection. The site selection is notable because South Carolina is one of the biggest nuclear states in the US, having sparred several times with the Obama and Trump administrations over Nevada's refusal to take their nuclear waste. South Carolina is generally supportive of nuclear power, as is nearby Georgia and Tennessee, where work on the Watts Bar 2 and Vogtle 2 reactors has recently completed - "recently" in nuclear contracting terms. The supply chain elements for a fusion reactor like engineers, materials, labor and concrete all exist in these places and there is a no aggressive environmentalist movement like California's Sierra Club to stop construction. Adjacent to this are smaller Small Modular Reactor fission reactors planned for the Oak Ridge National Lab, and conceivably that would be an ideal site as a fusion reaction needs a lot of power to start it (similar to a diesel motor and compressed air or a gasoline motor with electric spark plugs).
Whether or not the plant actually works is anyone's guess, but there's other uses for a fusion reactor namely QA testing nuclear bomb components. This is what the US government's existing non-commercial fusor does in Livermore, California. Biden is already upgrading all the national labs for next-generation energy research, including new supercomputers capable of managing a fusion reactor, so this comes at an opportune time and will probably be built.