VANCOUVER – General Fusion and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories have announced they will partner to develop tritium extraction techniques for use in commercial fusion power plants.
General Fusion is developing an economical approach to magnetized target fusion (MTF), which is currently fuelled by hydrogen isotopes deuterium and tritium. Deuterium is derived from water but tritium can be bred from the fusion reaction itself.
“Together, the organizations will identify the most promising approaches for managing tritium in fusion energy systems – specifically, the process of extracting tritium from liquid metal to provide a limitless supply of tritium fuel,” a release stated.
The work is being done through the Canadian Nuclear Research Initiative program which facilitates access to Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ facilities for industrial partners in Canada and around the world.
“We are taking our decades of expertise in tritium handling, separation and storage and applying it to resolve technical problems in this area in fusion,” said Dr. Ian Castillo, head of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ Hydrogen and Tritium Technology directorate, in a statement.. “This is an exciting project, and we are pleased to make a contribution to the advancement of Canadian fusion technology.”
“Our global research partners play an important role in helping General Fusion advance its MTF technology for commercialization. This collaboration with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories will further refine this technology for application in commercial power plants,” General Fusion chief technology officer Ryan Guerrero added.
General Fusion plans to build a fusion demonstration plant to confirm the economics and performance of MTF technology with scheduled operation set for 2025.
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