POWER May 2023 - 19

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
ever, both the industry and NRC agree
that the current framework designed for
fission reactors is not appropriate for fusion
power plants.
Congress, via the 2019 Nuclear Energy
Innovation and Modernization Act, has
directed the NRC to establish a framework
for fusion by the end of 2027. The
main question is whether fusion should
be regulated under Title 10 Part 53 of the
Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR 53)
as a " utilization facility " similar to fission
reactors, under 10 CFR 30 relating to generation
of by-product material, or some
hybrid of the two. Since fusion energy
does not involve the use of any " special
nuclear material " (that is, fissionable uranium
or plutonium), the industry is nearly
unanimous in seeking regulation under
the by-product approach. The source
term for fusion is primarily the tritium
fuel, with the remainder being neutronactivated
reactor components.
The NRC has held several meetings
and workshops over the past three years
to gather information and discuss the issues
with industry representatives. In
January 2023, NRC staff released a draft
assessment recommending the hybrid approach
based on 10 CFR 30. Exactly what
this will look like is not yet clear, but the
fusion industry is cautiously optimistic.
Meanwhile, the UKAEA is a few steps
ahead of the NRC. In June 2022, the UK
government announced that pilot FPPs
in the UK will be regulated under the
existing framework for fusion research
facilities, such as JET, rather than under
regulations for fission plants. The
actual regulations will be developed via
engagement with the industry over the
next two to three years.
ITER Advances-and Setbacks
The massive ITER experiment under
construction in southern France was
envisioned as the first fusion device to
achieve net energy. Whether or not one
of the private fusion companies gets
within the next year.
Unfortunately, there have also been
key setbacks. The COVID-19 pandemic
caused a significant slowdown in both
site construction and component manufacturing
for over a year. Then, in January
2022, the French Nuclear Safety
Authority (ASN) ordered a halt to assembly
of the vacuum vessel after finding
weld defects in the two sections
The significant increase in public and
private investment in fusion energy,
as well as the recent scientific and
technical advances, have reset
expectations for many industry observers.
there first, ITER will be a critical resource
for fusion research at reactor scale.
Major construction has continued, with
several key milestones reached, and important
components successfully completed
and delivered.
These include several sections of the
main vacuum vessel that will contain the
fusion plasma, and two of the six modules
for the Central Solenoid (CS), the
massive electromagnet that will power
the fusion reaction. The CS is being manufactured
by General Atomics, and the
last of six modules should be completed
that had been delivered up to that point.
Further investigation determined that
they had been damaged during shipment
from South Korea. In addition,
ASN found that the radiation shielding
around the vessel was inadequate, and
a correction could cause the vessel to
exceed the design weight of the building
foundation.
First plasma operations at ITER were
once planned for 2025. Italian scientist
Pietro Barabaschi, who became ITER director-general
in 2022 after the death of
Bernard Bigot, told French media in January
2023 that start-up has likely slipped
by a year or more. However, Barabaschi
also said he believed the lost time could
be made up, and full operations could
still begin in 2035 as scheduled.
Future Outlook
The significant increase in public and
private investment in fusion energy, as
well as the recent scientific and technical
advances, have reset expectations
for many industry observers. The large
number of projects working in parallel
suggest that net energy could potentially
be achieved via magnetic fusion in the
late 2020s, which would conveniently
coincide with the forthcoming NRC regulatory
framework. Should that occur, it is
likely that funding will be available for the
first FPPs, which could come online as
5. The first of nine sections of the massive vacuum vessel that will contain the fusion plasma
in the ITER machine was delivered in late 2020. In early 2022, welding defects were discovered
that halted further assembly. Courtesy ITER
May 2023 | POWER
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soon as the early 2030s. ■
-Thomas W. Overton is senior strategic
development specialist with General
Atomics in San Diego, California.
19
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POWER May 2023

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