On December 5, 2022, researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California, achieved ignition of a fusion reaction — i.e., more energy output from the reaction than the energy used to drive it. This feat was accomplished by firing 192 lasers onto a BB-sized target of deuterium and tritium.

Figure 1: SPARC tokamak. Source: Ken Filar/CC BY-SA 4.0Figure 1: SPARC tokamak. Source: Ken Filar/CC BY-SA 4.0

While this has been done before, the energy input in this instance was 2.04 megajoules (MJ), while the energy output was 3.15 MJ; a net energy creation of 1.11 MJ, which is an absolutely monumental accomplishment. The quest for fusion ignition has been ongoing for over 60 years, and this event proves that it is possible, potentially powering the world with clean and abundant energy.

The big challenge now, among many smaller challenges, is that fusion ignition has been done once in laboratory conditions. Scaling it up is no small feat; however, once a process is proven to work on a small scale, it can then be iterated upon and improved into a mature technology. Consider that the Wright Brothers’ first flight in December 1903 covered only 120 ft. We can now use this technology — developed over 120 years — to cross the globe in a matter of hours.

Multiple entities pursuing fusion technology

Just as powered flight changed our world, fusion has the potential to change it again. With this technology on the cusp of viability, a wide range of public and private enterprises are pursuing fusion. Listed below are some of the 33 companies that responded to a 2022 Fusion Industry Association survey.

Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS)

Spun out of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Commonwealth leverages decades of existing fusion research with the innovation and speed of the private sector. CFS was founded in 2018 with $2 billion in funding. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, their fusion technique uses tokamak magnetic confinement in a small form-factor reactor, which is made possible by state-of-the-art superconducting magnet technology. A groundbreaking large-bore high temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet design, CFS is constructing the SPARC tokamak technology demonstrator with the goal of producing net positive energy. Scheduled to start in 2025, their ARC reactor concept aims to build on SPARC as an on-grid fusion power plant.

Renaissance Fusion

The first magnetic confinement fusion startup in Europe, Renaissance focuses on stellarator technology as what they claim to be “the most efficient, steady, and stable fusion devices.” The French company was found in 2020, with funding of $16.5 million. The innovative stellarator design surrounds plasma with a layer of flowing lithium for neutron containment. The goal is to have a small-scale net positive heat demonstrator in 2027, with a commercial unit operating in 2032.

NIF

NIF, or the U.S. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, was formally proposed in 1994, with its conceptual basis developed over the last half of the 1900s. While a massive and expensive undertaking (as estimated $3.5 billion), it has progressed further than any other entity to-date. Its progress is evident, as its researchers became the first to obtain fusion ignition, arguably the most important fusion milestone yet accomplished. The NIF project’s success was made possible in part by research done at the University of Rochester’s Lab for Laser Energetics.

Meeting raw, customized fusion materials needs

While fusion entities pursue varying approaches, each needs excellent quality parts and materials, often with an extreme customization element. Many suppliers and educational facilities are working to solve various key challenges.

Rochester, New York, is also home to Arnold Magnetic Technologies, one of the companies working to advance fusion technology through partnering with national labs and universities as well as directly with the organizations building fusion projects.

Founded in 1895, Arnold has refined its expertise in magnets, solenoids, thin metals and other related disciplines and has contributed to the development of innovative disruptive technologies ranging from satellite communications to particle physics to electric passenger aircraft. With their experience and commitment to research and development, Arnold is uniquely positioned to work in the emerging fusion industry and is already involved in the preliminary stages of several projects.

Arnold currently provides corrosion-resistant ultra-thin alloys for use in high temperature super-conducting magnets for tokamak projects and R&D support to develop permanent magnet solutions to simplify stellarator designs.

Specific Arnold offerings suitable for the fusion industry include:

  • Extreme customization of permanent magnets — Magnetic containment in some designs requires a massive number of customized magnets (often the bulk of a project’s cost), each with its own unique geometry.
  • Thin metals — HTS magnets, like those used for containment by CFS, are constructed with state-of-the art precision thin metal alloys, and stainless-steel alloys are used for shielding.
  • Quadrupole magnets and solenoid coils — Used to focus inertial confinement lasers.
  • Expertise — Arnold’s technology centers have experts in the U.S., U.K. and Switzerland available to engineer solutions together with fusion innovators.

Competition and collaboration

While each entity pursuing this energy source has its own approach — and would love to reach the next fusion milestone — there has been a massive amount of collaboration among universities, research labs and private sector corporations.

There is also a greater percentage of women working in this space than in many other STEM-based pursuits. One might again draw a parallel back to the invention of powered flight. The Wright Brothers were very much atypical of the established scientific community but collaborated and built on data from others to eventually master the subject.

Whether through an established and well-funded entity like the NIF or Commonwealth, or a small upstart that no one yet sees coming, suppliers like Arnold Magnetic Technologies stand ready to supply the customized materials needed to make fusion a reality. December’s ignition proves that net positive energy is indeed possible, and we begin 2023 one step closer to abundant energy, provided by clean fusion power generation.

Contact Arnold Magnetic Technologies at 1-800-593-9127 or visit their website.