2022-10-18 14:50:00
BRITAIN'S FUSION DEVELOPMENT
WNN - 17 October 2022 - The newly completed GBP10 million (USD11.4 million) extension has doubled the size of the UK Atomic Energy Authority's (UKAEA) Materials Research Facility (MRF) at Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire.
Specialist materials that can withstand extreme conditions are a critical part of delivering fusion energy as a safe, sustainable, low carbon energy supply, the UKAEA said. They are also essential in the development of STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), the UK's prototype fusion power plant. The investment has seen an additional 12 shielded research rooms, used to hold high-end analytical instrumentation, added to the facility, as well as extensive new active chemical laboratory space, for scientists and engineers to develop more neutron-tolerant materials.
"Developing novel materials for resilience to fusion's triple whammy of tritium permeation, transmutation and atomic displacement effects is one of the grand challenges in delivering fusion power to the grid by mid-century," MRF Director Amanda Quadling said. She described the extended facility as "one of the best of its kind in the world", providing collaborative space to bring together academic and industrial researchers. "Also, by co-locating experimentalists and modellers, we hope to incubate new approaches to materials qualification for fusion," she added.
The MRF is supported by the UK government's National Nuclear User Facility and Fusion Foundations programme. It is also part of the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials and bridges the gap between university and nuclear licensed site laboratories.
The UK recently announced the selection of a site at West Burton in Nottinghamshire to host the STEP demonstration plant, which is due to begin operating by 2040.
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Earlier:
2022, October, 5, 13:10:00
BRITAIN NEED ENERGY SECURITY
The UK government has said it is currently scouring the market for potential gas import deals as part of a new supply security push.
2022, October, 5, 12:50:00
BRITAIN'S FUSION ENERGY
The technical objectives of STEP are: to deliver predictable net electricity greater than 100 MW; to innovate to exploit fusion energy beyond electricity production; to ensure tritium self-sufficiency; to qualify materials and components under appropriate fusion conditions; and to develop a viable path to affordable lifecycle costs.
2022, September, 5, 14:00:00
BRITAIN'S NUCLEAR INVESTMENT
The GBP3.3 million funding through the Advanced Modular Reactor Research, Development and Demonstration (AMR RD&D) programme - part of the GBP385 million Advanced Nuclear Fund - will support the development of innovative nuclear technology in the UK, such as high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).
2022, September, 2, 12:25:00
BRITAIN'S NUCLEAR INVESTMENT $0.8 BLN
This is part of the GBP1.7 billion of new direct government funding to develop a large-scale nuclear project announced in October.
2022, August, 26, 12:05:00
BRITISH COLD WINTER
UK households will pay almost triple the price to heat their homes this winter compared with a year ago, a jarring increase for millions of people already struggling to afford everyday essentials.
2022, August, 25, 10:15:00
BRITAIN'S ENERGY PROTECTION £100 BLN
UK was facing a “catastrophic winter”, telling the BBC that half of all households could fall into fuel poverty without intervention.
2022, August, 12, 08:30:00
BRITAIN'S HARD WINTER
Under the government’s latest “reasonable worst-case scenario,” Britain could face an electricity capacity shortfall totaling about a sixth of peak demand, even after emergency coal plants have been fired up, according to people familiar with the government’s planning.
