3MF504 Fusion Master Class 20/21- Q2
Title: Fusion Power; Economy and Deployment
Dates: 9 – 13 November 2020, full time. ONLINE
Responsible teacher: Prof. N.J. Lopes Cardozo
Co-teachers: Guido Lange MSc
Short description
In this master class you will look way past the challenges of today's fusion research, to a future in which operational fusion plants can be built. What do these look like; what should their characteristics be in order for fusion power to be a useful complement to the energy mix at that time; and how fast can fusion be deployed if all conditions are favourable? And will fusion power be cheap enough to enter this market?
This means that besides the technical issues of fusion you are now familiar with, you will look at the grand picture of a sustainable energy future; at the radical changes to our energy infrastructure that are coming up; at the economy of energy sources in their early deployment phase as well as in their later, fully developed deployment; and at societal aspects: what does society really need?
Phrased differently: What is the value proposition of fusion power? What will it bring to the energy market that sets it apart from what’s already there?
And what does the answer to this question mean for the fusion road map as we see it today[1]. Is ITER - after all a project that was conceived 30 years ago - still the best experiment thinkable, or would you, with today's knowledge, rather spend the budget on a different concept? Or ten different concepts?
We'll use the comprehensive 'EFDA Power Plant Conceptual Study' [2] as primary source of information on prospective fusion power plants. You will work in small teams to understand the principles applied in that analysis, and then critically assess the assumptions and outcomes. You will apply concepts such as recirculating power, conversion efficiency and plant efficiency, availability and capacity factor, overnight investment cost and cost of electricity. You will compare the characteristics of fusion power to that of renewable energy technologies (RET) and fission. Guest speakers will shed light on different aspects of the energy transition, the prospects of RET and fission and the status of fusion power.
Your team will work – guided by a series of assignments - on different aspects of the question which unique qualities fusion will bring to the energy market. You share your results with the other teams, so that a comprehensive picture will emerge. This will enable you to write an individual essay.

[1] EUROPEAN RESEARCH ROADMAP TO THE REALISATION OF FUSION ENERGY. Downloadable from EUROfusion site: https://www.euro-fusion.org/fileadmin/user_upload/EUROfusion/Documents/2018_Research_roadmap_long_version_01.pdf

[2] A CONCEPTUAL STUDY OF COMMERCIAL FUSION POWER PLANTS; Final Report of the European Fusion Power Plant Conceptual Study (PPCS); Including the Annexes. EFDA report EFDA-RP-RE-5.0 (2005) Downloadable from EUROfusion site: https://www.euro-fusion.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/PPCS_overall_report_final-with_annexes.pdf