The rising demand for clean energy around the globe has pushed innovators to explore better alternatives to fossil fuels. A nuclear fusion company with over a decade’s experience is now ready to speed up development of its oxidation-resistant vanadium alloys for fusion breeder blankets in spherical tokamaks.
Tokamak Energy is a private firm. It plans to deliver commercial fusion energy in the 2030s. The company intends to provide a clean, secure, affordable, and readily available energy source for everyone.
The firm has received a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) INFUSE award to accelerate its plans. The INFUSE program is focused on accelerating fusion energy development through public-private research partnerships. It involves the expertise and unique resources available at DOE laboratories and universities.
Michael Ginsberg is the president of Tokamak Energy Inc. He said, “Vanadium alloys are the leading candidate materials for breeder blanket structures in fusion power plant designs with flowing liquid lithium. This new project will push our understanding forward on the path to delivering clean and secure commercial fusion in the 2030s.”
Vanadium alloys have great potential as candidate materials for breeder blanket structures breeder in fusion reactor designs, vanadium alloys offer excellent lithium compatibility. These alloys have superior high-temperature mechanical properties when compared to reduced activation ferritic-martensitic steels and other structural materials.
Fusion reactor blanket design activities at Tokamak Energy have shown that a self-cooled liquid lithium blanket without an electrical insulator coating may not be practical due to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop and the resulting parasitic load. A dual-cooled design with helium as the coolant removes the need for an insulator coating and provides a more accessible design point.
Vanadium alloys have not been considered for dual-cooled designs because of concerns with oxidation and embrittlement by the uptake of interstitial atoms including oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, or hydrogen. To facilitate development of a dual-cooled blanket design with liquid Li as the breeder, a vanadium alloy with improved oxidation resistance and equivalent or better mechanical properties compared to the well-studied vanadium alloy V-4Cr-4Ti is required.
It is the ninth INFUSE award granted to Tokamak Energy which is one of eight private companies selected by the (DOE) as part of the U.S.’s ten-year vision for delivering commercial fusion.
Tokamak Energy will be working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Birmingham on the vanadium project. This research could expand the use of these materials, enable new design avenues, enhance safety, and improve plant efficiency.
Jean Paul Allain is the DOE Associate Director of Science for Fusion Energy Sciences. He said, “The INFUSE selections showcase our continuing commitment to the fusion industry in the U.S. and our goal to share widely unique capabilities at national laboratories and U.S. universities. Partnering with businesses and working together is a win-win for our fusion industry, the DOE, and the nation.”
If this research is successful, this project could lead to the development of an advanced vanadium-based alloy with enhanced oxidation resistance. This could possibly expand the use of these materials to more diverse environments, enable new design avenues, enhance safety under accident conditions, and improve plant efficiency.