[Grandpa Saw It!] Part 1: Dream Energy - A Look at the Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy
I'm Grandpa, a supporter of Gen Z and the future generation!
It seems the Takaichi administration has started with an approval rating of over 70%. It's being well-received.
Now, this time, I'm talking about the fusion energy that Prime Minister Takaichi spoke passionately about during the LDP presidential election, saying, "It's not a dream for Japan to have 100% energy self-sufficiency."
In June of this year, the government revised the "Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy" and is aiming for industrial development through public-private cooperation.
Since this is a very important research theme for Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) is putting effort into it, and it should also be a shining star for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Agency for Natural Resources and Energy). However, true to siloed administration, there is a rush to establish external organizations under the jurisdiction of each ministry. This is no good, if they are just fighting over establishment to secure landing spots for retired bureaucrats...
It's also a very exciting time for startups, as they shouldn't miss the opportunity to take advantage of the situation where it's easy to get budget allocations.
Now, let's take a look at that "Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy."
Please join me for the first and second parts.
1️⃣ What is fusion energy?
Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which light atomic nuclei fuse together to become heavier nuclei, releasing a tremendous amount of energy. This is because the mass after the fusion reaction is slightly smaller than the mass before it, and the difference in mass is converted into energy (E = mc2). This fusion reaction is the universal source of energy in the universe, and inside stars like the sun, a fusion reaction occurs where four hydrogen atoms are converted into helium, and it has been generating energy for over 5 billion years.
If you just read the text, you might think it sounds easy because you just have to collide hydrogen to make it react, but it's actually quite difficult. It's not that fusion reactions happen so easily even inside the sun, and it takes hundreds of thousands of years for the energy generated by fusion to travel from the inside of the sun to the surface and for the light to reach Earth.
The sunlight we see is energy that underwent fusion hundreds of thousands of years ago.
I've digressed a bit, so let's get back to the topic.
For nuclear fusion, first, you need a collision between deuterium and tritium, a heavy hydrogen isotope that is extremely rare in nature and became a topic of discussion during the Fukushima nuclear accident.
If it cannot be easily supplied from nature, it must be created artificially, so there will definitely be public resistance.
Nuclear fusion is when light atomic nuclei like hydrogen stick together (fuse) and change into heavier atomic nuclei like helium.
Since the weight (mass) of the helium and neutrons after the fusion reaction is lighter than the weight of the deuterium (D) and tritium (T) before the fusion reaction, the difference in mass is converted into energy (E=mc2), which is fusion energy, or fusion energy. To achieve this, a high temperature of over 100 million degrees (plasma state) is required.
Despite the fact that the tritium concentration in Fukushima's ALPS-treated water is diluted to less than approximately 700 Bq (becquerels)/L before release, it is causing a huge uproar. This is far below national safety regulations (60,000 Bq/L) and WHO drinking water standards (10,000 Bq/L), but I'm sure people on social media who only stir up fear about dangers will definitely try to obstruct nuclear fusion, which requires the artificial supply of the very tritium that is causing such a fuss.
2️⃣ What are the technical challenges of nuclear fusion?
First and foremost, commercial sustainability only becomes realistic when we can achieve power generation where the energy obtained from the fusion reaction exceeds the energy used to maintain the reaction (a state where fusion occurs continuously) (exceeding break-even).
The second challenge is maintaining a net energy gain state stably for a long period of time. This is extremely difficult, and involves complex issues such as magnetic field control for plasma confinement, degradation of the reactor wall due to neutrons, and tritium supply and recovery.
The third challenge is likely ensuring good cost performance. No matter how technically superior it is, there is no benefit if every household is billed 1 million yen for their monthly electricity.
3️⃣ Japan is aiming for a Galapagos approach in magnetic field control methods
There are three methods for magnetic field control in fusion energy: magnetic confinement, inertial confinement, and semiconductor methods.
Each method differs in its methodology for how to stably confine the plasma to trigger a fusion reaction.
● Magnetic Confinement
This is a method that uses magnetic field lines to confine plasma so that it does not touch the container. Devices such as the "Tokamak type" and "Helical type" are representative, and they are the mainstream of fusion research.
● Inertial Confinement
This is a method of irradiating fuel pellets with powerful lasers or particle beams and triggering a fusion reaction through the resulting implosion effect. Because the fusion reaction occurs in a short time, it is confined by explosive force.
● Semiconductor method
This is a relatively new concept that attempts to control fusion reactions by applying semiconductor elements. It is a method that promotes fusion by controlling electromagnetic waves or magnetic fields rather than plasma confinement.
My explanation became long before getting into Japan's fusion energy innovation strategy. I will continue in the second part.
Finally, among the promising methods of Tokamak and Helical methods, it seems that only Japan is not solely committed to the global trend of the Tokamak method, but is also betting on startup support that views the Helical method as promising. However, since it doesn't seem like they are relying solely on the Helical method, but also not abandoning the Tokamak, it feels like an all-pleasing strategy, so I wonder if it's okay to do this and that when the budget is small, but please look forward to the second part.
Excerpt from the lecture materials of Professor Masaki Osakabe, National Institute for Fusion Science
Thank you for reading until the end.
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