Below is an article evidencing the increased flow of funds into...

Below is an article evidencing the increased flow of funds into nuclear fusion research.
Since the successful Lawrence Livermore breakthrough last Dec, the industry has determined that they still have one more challenge to contend with - designing the internal reactor chamber such that it can tolerate the extreme heat during plasma.

Whilst this is a bit further down the track than the immediate demands of Nyobolt batteries in 2024, there is no doubt that funds will continue to flow into this area of research

FATHOM2 project receives £1.5million for fusion energy research using AM

The fundingwas awarded to the University of Birmingham by the United Kingdom Atomic EnergyAuthority (UKAEA)

Edward WakefieldDecember 8, 2023

According to The University of Birmingham, the institution has been awarded nearly £1.5 million by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to research and develop technology for fusion energy. The funding will go to the FATHOM2 project (FAbrication of Tungsten using HOt isostatic pressing and Additive Manufacturing), which focuses on scaling up additive manufacturing and powder hot isostatic pressing (HIPping) technologies to produce complex, cooledtungsten components for plasma-facing components in nuclear fusion reactors, utilizingcomputational design and material assessment.

TheUniversity of Birmingham has teamed up with Metamorphic Additive Manufacturing Ltd. and Tokamak Energy Ltd. to help accelerate the development. It is one of nine institutionsthat have secured a share of the £11.6 million funding pot from the UKAEA’sFusion Industry Programme.

“The mainbarrier towards the application of nuclear fusion has been the selection of thematerials for the extreme conditions in fusion, and their manufacturing. PowderHIPping and additive manufacturing are two resource-efficient manufacturingtechnologies that will enable the fabrication of complex cooling solutions,which are essential for the successful deployment of nuclear fusion,” saidProfessor Moataz Attallah, Director of the Advanced Materials Processing Lab atthe University of Birmingham, and principal investigator on the FATHOM2project.

Fusion energy is createdwhen a mix of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) is heated to form acontrolled plasma at extreme temperatures– approximately 10 times hotterthan the core of the Sun – they fuse to create helium and release energy whichcan be harnessed to produce electricity. The energy created from fusion can beused to generate electricity in the same way as existing power stations.

Fusionenergy is an area that governments are keen to explore to decarbonize energyand reach emission targets, as it promises to be a safe, low-carbon, andsustainable part of the world’s future energy supply.

“Deliveringfusion energy is one of the great scientific and engineering challenges of ourtime. The Fusion Industry Programme is supporting businesses to overcome thesechallenges and help make fusion a commercial reality,” said Tim Bestwick, ChiefDevelopment Officer at UKAEA. “These organizations have been awarded contractsafter successfully demonstrating the feasibility of their concepts throughearlier stages of the Fusion Industry Programme and will now develop theirtechnologies to the ‘proof of concept’ stage.”

The UKAEA is the UK’snational organization responsible for the research and delivery of sustainablefusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored bythe Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. More information about the FusionIndustry Programme can be found here.