Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have proposed a framework for assessing whether fusion power plants – hailed as a potential game-changer in energy production – can become commercially viable.
In their study, Criteria for the economic viability of fusion power plants, which was published in the Journal of Fusion Energy, MIT professors Dennis Whyte and Andrew W. Lo, consider the physical inputs required to sustain controlled fusion energy production, as well as the costs of developing and operating fusion power plants.
‘Look at the economics’
“It’s all the things that come along with finding, allocating, and spending money at this scale,” commented Whyte, professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT. “This is critical to what we do. We should look at the economics. If we want this technology to actually be meaningful in the world economy, we have to start getting straight with ourselves about these topics.”
Fusion energy, which uses the same reaction that powers the sun, has been described as a source of abundant energy, while also being safer than other energy sources, such as nuclear. However, taking it from concept to delivery will be a challenge – while in 2022, researchers at the National Ignition Facility in California achieved a fusion reaction with positive energy gain, commercial development is still some way off.
“It’s challenging to reduce complex scientific and engineering requirements to economic consequences,” Lo added. “But if we don’t do that, we’re not going to get the funding we need to achieve the impact we want.”
Factors to consider
The framework developed by the MIT team uses 10 parameters to assess the economic viability of a fusion power plant. These cover physical and engineering factors, such as the energy consumed and produced, power density, conversion efficiency and component durability, as well as construction costs, capital requirements and market conditions.
The study comes amidst increased private investment in fusion energy. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinoff, recently obtained a new billion-dollar round of funding support from investors, with a view to opening its first working power plant in the 2030s, in the state of Virginia.
“It doesn’t matter whether the fusion power plant is a small or large, the bottom line is: In both cases you better have money coming out that exceeds the money going in, otherwise it’s not going to be around for very long,” said Lo. Read more here.
