ORNL, Type One Energy to advance fusion fuel cycle with innovative new technologies
REPRINTED FROM ORNL
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has licensed a suite of cryogenic pellet fueling technologies to Type One Energy, advancing a critical capability for high-performance fusion plasma operations.
The agreement, signed at the Nuclear Opportunities Workshop (NOW) in Knoxville, Tennessee, on August 5, outlines the use of four ORNL inventions supporting the design and operation of cryogenic pellet fueling systems. Cryogenic pellet fueling forms solid pellets of hydrogen at temperatures just a few degrees above absolute zero and injects them at high speed into a fusion plasma. It is more effective at fueling the core of a plasma than other methods, such as gas puffing, and contributes to improved plasma performance.
Type One Energy, a fusion company based in Oak Ridge, is developing next-generation stellarator technology to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy. The company has previously worked with ORNL on several major technology collaborations, including a recently-announced high-heat flux test facility and a joint project in the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program.
“Type One Energy is a valued partner in advancing fusion energy research. This license is an exciting next step in our partnership, moving our fueling research out of the lab and into application, and we look forward to seeing these technologies contribute to the future of fusion energy,” said ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer.
“Our continuing collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory is accelerating the commercialization of fusion energy,” said John Canik, Chief Science and Engineering Officer at Type One Energy. “Fueling the fusion reaction with high repetition and high reliability is one of the most essential technologies for continuous generation of fusion power.”
ORNL’s licensed technologies address a gap in fuel performance, containment and recirculation challenges by providing a novel extrusion system that can produce pellets at rates appropriate for reactor operations. The system is expected to efficiently and safely provide flexible continuous plasma fueling.
Fusion reactors that run on deuterium and tritium must be continuously refueled to replace ions consumed in the reaction and lost from the confining magnetic fields. While deuterium is relatively abundant and can be handled with conventional equipment, tritium’s scarcity and radioactivity present unique challenges for reprocessing and containment, and no current pellet injectors are able to produce pellets at required rates.
The licensed technologies are:
- Tritium-Compatible Cryogenic Pellet Gas Gun: This novel gas gun design uses tritium-compatible materials, real-time pellet size control and a simplified, robust design that minimizes stress-induced failures for reliable, long-term operation in fusion environments.
- Tritium-Compatible Cryogenic Screw Extruder for Plasma Energy Pellet Injection: Tailored for tritium service and radiation resistance, this cryogenic extruder maintains hermetic containment during continuous pellet production while accommodating a wide range of extrusion temperatures, flow rates, cross sections and isotope mixtures.
- Pressure Relief Device for Cryogenic Fusion Fuels: This reusable pressure relief and check valve provides overpressure protection through repeated operation in tritium fuel systems at temperatures below 20 kelvin, protecting injector seals and enhancing the safety of fusion fueling systems.
- Solid Conveyance with Single Phase Change Method for Cryogenic Extrusion Recirculation: This recirculation system creates a more efficient, closed-loop fueling process by recycling excess extrusion into gas for pellet production, reducing tritium inventory and eliminating the need for external gas handling and processing systems to support long-term reactor operation.
The ORNL development team includes Steve Meitner and Dean McGinnis, and former ORNL staff Larry Baylor and Jeff Ullreich.
Together, these technologies form a key part of the lab’s longstanding leadership in fusion fueling science and will play an important role in the creation of high-performance plasmas in next-generation fusion devices.
“We’re proud to partner with Type One to move ORNL innovations into the marketplace, strengthening an emerging regional economic driver while accelerating commercialization of technologies critical to the future of fusion energy,” said Shaun Gleason, director of Partnerships at ORNL.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.