Fusion Power Plant studies in Europe

Following an introduction to fusion energy, the European fusion research programme is presented. This programme is "reactor oriented" and it is aimed at the successive demonstration of the scientific, the technological and the economic feasibility of fusion power. For such a programme, it is essential to have a clear idea of its ultimate goal, namely a series of models of fusion power plants, in order to define the correct strategy and to assess the pertinence of the on-going activities. The European Power Plant Conceptual Study (PPCS) has been a study of conceptual designs of 5 commercial fusion power plants with the main emphasis on system integration. It focused on 5 power plant models, named PPCS A, B, AB, C and D, which are illustrative of a wider spectrum of possibilities. They are all based on the tokamak concept and they have approximately the same net electrical power output, 1,500 MWe. These span a range from relatively near-term, based on limited technology and plasma physics extrapolations, to an advanced conception. The PPCS allows to clarify the concept of DEMO, the device that will bridge the gap between ITER and the first-of-a-kind fusion power plant. An assessment of the PPCS models with limited extrapolations highlighted a number of physics issues that must be addressed to establish the DEMO physics basis. Similarly, a review of the DEMO technical objectives brings to the fore the issues that must be addressed to establish the engineering and technological basis for DEMO. They are primarily related to the divertor and blanket concepts, to the maintenance scheme of the internal components and to the availability and reliability of all major systems.