The UK fusion programme

Fusion has the potential to provide significant electricity generation in the second half of the 21st century. The primary fuels, deuterium and lithium, are cheap, abundant, and widely distributed: a 1 GW (electric) fusion power plant would consume about 100 kg of deuterium (present as 1 part in 6000 of seawater) and 3 tons of natural lithium per year. Fusion also has good safety and environmental characteristics. The reaction process is inherently safe: the reactor only contains fuel for about 30 seconds of operation, the reaction itself is easily extinguished, and the decay heat power density is relatively low. A realistic target for fusion is that there should be no need for evacuation of the surrounding population, even in worst case reactor accidents. The primary fuels and reaction products are non-radioactive. The reactor structure does become activated by exposure to neutrons, but this radioactivity is relatively short-lived. A realistic target for fusion is that there should be no need for the long term storage of waste (>100 years). And like fission, there is no emission of greenhouse or noxious gases. There is practically no risk of proliferation. In particular, none of the materials present in a fusion power station are subject to the provisions of the non-proliferation treaties, and no fissile or fertile material is required in a fusion power plant - thus monitoring and detection is easy. It is intended that the secondary fuel, tritium, would be bred from lithium in a blanket region surrounding the reaction (plasma) volume: hence there would be no need for offsite transport of tritium