2-23-2021- Survey Of Fusion Power Progress In US and Abroad
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Abstract
IEEE Delaware Bay section last reviewed the Fusion Power research activity in September 2009. The speaker was Dr. John Glowenka, Deputy Program Manager of the US participation in the ITER program. The ITER program is a multi-nation effort to demonstrate sustained break-even power in a fusion reactor. In the 12 years since, efforts have grown. Originally, the first fusion experiment for ITER was to be in 2019. This schedule has now shifted to a 2025 date. The usual suspects of funding, political and construction problems are responsible for the delays. Anyone desiring to get a jump on this talk is invited to browse on “ITER” for one of the most comprehensive websites I have seen. See http://www.iter.org.
Many nations have their own fusion power programs; the US has about 20. One venture has formed to produce a commercial fusion reactor. This venture, CFS (Commonwealth Fusion Systems) is supported by the MIT community, and several US and foreign investors. We hope to have a CFS speaker in the near future.
Bio
Doug Tipton has BSME, MSEE, and PhDEE degrees from Vanderbilt University and is a professional engineer in Delaware. He served 2 years in the Army’s radar and lidar programs at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. He retired from DuPont having been involved with instrument and equipment development programs. Post retirement, he joined a fellow DuPont retiree to design and fabricate several industrial machines. The most recent of these was an instrument to test high pressure steam components. He has been an IEEE member for over 50 years and is a past chair of the Delaware Bay Section.