4 ms·
What I’ve heard is that they will have a demonstration of “net energy” by 2025. This is still a long way from solving the engineering problem of putting energy
by hamburglar 5y ago
What I’ve heard is that they will have a demonstration of “net energy” by 2025. This is still a long way from solving the engineering problem of putting energy on the grid. And if that “net energy” definitions is actually Q-plasma as this video claims, it’s a lot farther still.
- hobscoop 5y agoSPARC is aiming for Q_plasma of about 10 in 2025, but not to generate energy at all: it doesn't have any of the required 'blanket' system for breeding tritium. SPARC is a physics test, to make sure our theories of burning plasma are correct and to test the stability of these high field tokamaks. ITER is (among other things) supposed to be a physics test, but won't come until 2035. So SPARC's goal is to 'leapfrog' that by 10 years. You're right that there's a lot of work to be done between Q_plasma = 10 and generating energy. A lot of this work on the materials side, to engineer materials that can last for years in a fusion reactor environment.