A top U.K. nuclear agency has accelerated efforts to develop robust sensing technologies for use in future nuclear fusion power plants. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) awarded contracts to thirteen organizations to develop a range of sensing and diagnostic technologies for use in extreme environments. This is an essential field of innovation for future fusion power plants.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organization responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).

The UKAEA said that novel sensing and diagnostic systems will be needed to measure a range of data within a fusion power plant. These include plasma position and shape, plasma electron density, temperature, and the performance of plasma-facing components.

The nuclear agency underlined that fusion power plants will operate under complex conditions, including extreme temperatures, high neutron loads, and high magnetic fields.

Developing highly specialized, robust sensing and control technologies that can operate under these extreme conditions is critical to making fusion energy a commercially viable part of the world’s energy mix, according to UKAEA.

Tim Bestwick is Chief Technology Officer and Deputy CEO at UKAEA. He said, “Fusion promises to be a safe, sustainable source of energy for future generations. However, delivering fusion means overcoming complex scientific and engineering challenges, such as developing tough sensors to withstand fusion’s harsh environments. The Fusion Industry Program is engaging private companies and academia to help solve these challenges, while stimulating innovation that can boost adjacent sectors.”

Worth four and a half billion dollars in total, sixteen contracts have been awarded by UKAEA’s Fusion Industry Program, an initiative launched in 2021 to develop the necessary technology and skills for the future global fusion power plant market.

UKAEA stated that thirteen organizations will now undertake technical feasibility studies, taking their sensing and diagnostics technologies to the ‘proof of concept’ stages with support from the Fusion Industry Program.

In a first for the Fusion Industry Program, expert fusion industry support is being supplied by technical advisors from both UKAEA and Tokamak Energy Ltd. Experts from UKAEA and Tokamak Energy are providing technical advice on the conditions found in a fusion environment to help inform the design and development of sensing and diagnostic technologies, according to a press release by UKAEA.

Joanne Flanagan is Tokamak Energy’s head of Diagnostics, Data and Control. She said, “We’re delighted to see a wealth of variety in the innovative responses to this challenge and are excited to support the projects in our role as technical advisors.”

Flanagan explained that measurement systems and components would need to be extremely robust to operate in the extreme fusion power plant environment, which is why a full range of technologies, ideas, and solutions must be explored.

Flanagan concluded that “This challenge is designed to stimulate the innovation needed to address this development, bringing us all one step closer to the goal of delivering clean, secure and affordable fusion energy.”

United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority

China is going to construct the world’s first fusion-fission hybrid power plant, a revolutionary step in nuclear energy. The facility, known as the Xinghuo high-temperature superconducting reactor, is designed to generate one hundred megawatts of continuous electricity and connect to the grid by the end of the decade. The plant will be constructed on Yaohu Science Island, which is located in the hi-tech zone of Nanchang, Jiangxi province.

The two billion seven hundred- and six million-dollar project has officially entered its first phase. A public tender has been issued for an environmental impact statement, according to zbytb.com, a Chinese procurement and bidding platform. The environmental impact report will consider factors such as air, water, noise, and ecology. It will also contain risk assessments, pollution control strategies, and long-term monitoring plans. The project’s name is Xinghuo which means “spark”. It is inspired by a quote from Mao Zedong: “A single spark can start a prairie fire.”

The Xinghuo reactor is a joint venture between the state-owned China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Corporation and Lianovation Superconductor. This was reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Lianovation is a spin-off of Lianovation Optoelectronics which is a company based in Jiangxi province. Jiangxi is famous for its abundant copper resources, a crucial material in superconducting technology.

According to a 2023 collaboration agreement, the Xinghuo reactor is designed for an energy gain factor (Q value) of more than thirty. This Q value measures the ratio of thermal power output to the energy input required to heat the plasma in a fusion reaction.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France aims for a Q value above ten. The US National Ignition Facility achieved a Q value of one and a half in 2022, meaning the energy output was one and a half times greater than the input.

Fusion is the same process that powers our Sun, where light atomic nuclei, such as hydrogen, fuse to release energy. Fission splits heavy atomic nuclei like uranium to generate power which is an approach currently used in commercial nuclear power plants.

Unlike pure fusion projects such as ITER, Xinghuo will combine fusion and fission processes. The high-energy neutrons generated by fusion reactions will trigger fission in surrounding materials which increases the energy output while potentially reducing nuclear waste.

The timeline for Xinghuo’s construction has not been disclosed. However, its environmental impact statement is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

A 2021 development plan from Jiangxi province established a goal for the demonstration and application of the hybrid project by 2030. Lianovation Superconductor stated in 2023 that the one hundred-megawatt hybrid facility could be completed within six years.

If China is able to complete the hybrid plant on schedule, it will be a major breakthrough. The country would be years ahead of other fusion-fission and pure fusion projects worldwide, SCMP reported.

This development could also accelerate progress on the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor which is a large-scale fusion-only initiative planned for Hefei, Anhui province, in the mid-2030s. The Hefei project is considered to be China’s answer to ITER.

China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Corporation