Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy: An introduction to the first special edition

P. A. Norreys*, C. Ridgers, K. Lancaster, M. Koepke, G. Tynan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

A European consortium of 15 laboratories across nine nations have worked together under the EUROFusion Enabling Research grants for the past decade with three principle objectives. These are: (a) investigating obstacles to ignition on megaJoule-class laser facilities; (b) investigating novel alternative approaches to ignition, including basic studies for fast ignition (both electron and ion-driven), auxiliary heating, shock ignition etc.; and (c) developing technologies that will be required in the future for a fusion reactor. The Hooke discussion meeting in March 2020 provided an opportunity to reflect on the progress made in inertial confinement fusion research world-wide to date. This first edition of two special issues seeks to identify paths forward to achieve high fusion energy gain. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Prospects for high gain inertial fusion energy (part 1)'.

Original languageEnglish
Article number20200006
JournalPhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences
Volume378
Issue number2184
Early online date12 Oct 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Bibliographical note

© 2020, The Authors(s).

Keywords

  • central hot spot
  • direct drive
  • fast ignition
  • indirect drive
  • inertial confinement fusion
  • inertial fusion energy

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