MINIMAK: A compact tokamak reactor conceptual design

Recently, a small D-T fueled fusion reactor design based upon the Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) concept has been presented that predicts cost of electricity (COE) comparable to a light water fission reactor (LWR). In this paper, another conceptual design, based upon a small, high-beta, low q, steady-state, high-current tokamak concept (MINIMAK) that utilizes a 50/50 mixture of D-T fuel, is examined. The plant power balance calculation shows that the net electric power of each reactor is about 75 MWe using superconducting magnets. There is an aggregate of 12 reactors that make up a power plant with about 900-MWe net electric power. The safety issues are similar to other D-T reactors. Remote maintenance and tritium handling are still required but are facilitated by the small size of MINIMAK. A mass-produced MINIMAKS is costed, and the resulting COE is around 56 milles/Kwh for a 12-unit power plant. Ways to reduce the COE are discussed