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212 Managing Global Warming

Primary coolant pump
Neutrons
DT fusion Radiation Blanket
First wall
20% a, Photons and shield
80% n
Divertor
Charged
particles
Primary heat
Low-grade
Heating heat Energy
and conversion
current
drive Gross Net electrical
systems electrical to grid
Tritium Cryoplant
plant
Recirculating
Vacuum TFcoil Remainder power
pumps power of plant

Fig. 5.5 Fusion power plant internal power flow, showing demands from different plant
subsystems. The plant’s efficiency (net electrical power divided by fusion power) hinges on
reducing the recirculating power requirements of these systems, particularly the heating and
current drive systems, and the primary coolant pumping. Low-grade heat is lost to the
environment
Based on Kovari M, et al. PROCESS: a systems code for fusion power plants—part 2:
engineering, Fusion Eng Des 2016; 104:9–20.

to test the technology is a nuclear tokamak, but to build a nuclear tokamak all the tech-
nology needs to be available. The only ways to square this circle are to attempt to build
many options, which will likely fail in interesting and instructive ways, or to itera-
tively move toward an integrated design through careful modeling and theoretical
development until sufficient confidence is gained from corroborative data (from fis-
sion, and from IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility [20] or
other proposed facilities) to make the big step to building a fully nuclear fusion power
plant.
As these technology issues and the range of potential fusion devices demonstrate,
the road to a commercial fusion power plant is far from obvious. Nevertheless,
considerable progress is being made in identifying how these problems link together
and what the genuinely promising design options are.

5.4 Fusion’s role in future energy markets

It is always hard to make predictions, and particularly so in any system that couples
economics and technological innovation. But to explore the possible role of fusion in
future energy markets different potential “storylines” can be created and the impacts