New Stellarator Fusion Plant to be Designed
The US fusion energy firm Type One Energy chose Canada-based AtkinsRéalis engineering company to design its pilot fusion plant based on stellarator technology to demonstrate its potential for generation of clean, safe and affordable power from fusion energy.
In close collaboration with Type One Energy, AtkinsRéalis will integrate already available solutions on the implementation of projects alongside novel fusion technologies, seeking to de-risk the delivery of the fusion plant while optimizing cost and to adapt stellarator technology for commercial use.
Infinity One of Type One Energy is a fusion stellarator different from traditional fusion tokamak facilities such as Joint European Torus in Great Britain or Iter in France. The tokamak has a toroidal shape, while stellarator is in the shape of figure-eight to facilitate some aspects of plasma control solving tokamak problem when magnetic coils limiting plasma are obligatory less dense on the outside of the toroidal ring, which results in loss of energy and plasma control.
Except the main advantages, stellarators require less input energy to maintain the plasma as they use permanent magnets and have more design flexibility due to their shape, the disadvantage of which is the difficulty of producing a complex shell.
The construction of Infinity One is planned in 2025 after completion of necessary environmental reviews, signing of partner agreements, receival of required permits and licenses for operation as stated by Type One Energy. This will allow the company to check important structural peculiarities of its pilot fusion plant using high-field stellarator, in particular, operational effectiveness, reliability, maintainability and affordability.