Climate Change > Nottinghamshire to get World's First Commercial Fusion Generator

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U.K. selects site for world's first fusion power plant

Fusion is touted as a near-limitless source of energy.

By Daniel J. Graeber

   

Nuclear plants such as the Grohnde Nuclear Power Plant in northern Germany could yield

substantial forms of new energy should research on fusion yield positive results.

File Photo by Focke Strangmann/EPA-EFE

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The British government said it selected the location for what could become the world's first commercial-scale prototype for a nuclear reactor run by fusion, a near-limitless source of energy.

The government on Monday selected the West Burton A plant in Nottinghamshire, southeast of Leeds, as the site for its prototype fusion energy plant, which could be completed by 2040.

Fission, which is used in standard nuclear-power reactors, works by breaking atoms apart. Fusion is a type of nuclear energy derived from the collision of atoms. It is considered a near-limitless and clean source of energy, but it's only been tested so far in non-commercial experiments.

"Fusion power creates nearly 4 million times more energy for every kilogram of fuel than burning coal, oil or gas," the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority explained.

Ben Bradley, a council leader in Nottinghamshire County, welcomed the decision to eventually power the country from his constituency.

"It's new technology, we've proven that it works and north Nottinghamshire is going to be the hub of research, innovation, commercializing that and selling it to the world," he told the BBC.

EUROfusion scientists and engineers at the Joint European Torus facility in Oxford set a record for fusion energy early this year with the generation of 59 megajoules of sustained energy. 

Dr Robert Sansom, a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Energy Policy Panel, said:

“It’s an important step but the energy output specified is confusing. The 59 MJ is described as sustained but it was over 5 seconds with an average output of 11MW.  If this energy could be captured and used to power a steam turbine, then the power station output would be about 4MW, which is not much.

In other words, it would cost a genuine fortune!

“I would describe it as a proof of concept, but there is a lot further to go. The next stage would be to demonstrate that the energy can be captured and used to drive a generator. From this, we would be able to assess its potential for a reliable source of baseload power and its associated costs and other factors, including environmental impact. It’s a step forward but there are many more steps to overcome before this technology can be commercialised in time to have much impact on net zero. The best we can hope for is that this technology offers a viable low carbon energy source for the second half of this century and an alternative to nuclear fission.”

Researchers said the results more than double the old energy record of 21.7 megajoules set in 1997 at the same facility.

Not extremely impressive after 25 years of research. They will have to do exponentially better in the next 25 years if it's to be worthwhile.

The concept design for the facility in Nottinghamshire is expected a good two decades before the planned start of the prototype and will draw on at least $245 million in initial government funding.