HOPE's Fusion Concept uses intersecting high-current plasma beams passing through a common focal region to create conditions similar to those inside the solar core. The heavy hydrogen isotopes found in water will fuel fusion reactions inside the common focal region under the magnetic-inertial confinement technology to produce net energy gain.
Working with our research partners, we are
developing a concept for a "converter" to use fusion neutrons to
transform thorium into the
fissile uranium, to help meet the projected needs for fuel to
support rapid expansion of nuclear fission energy in expanding
markets, such as China. A large amount of thorium exists in
low-level radioactive waste tailings from mining operations around
the world.
Used nuclear reactor fuel still contains enough fissile fuel material to power a reactor several times over. Around the world, nuclear power plants have produced an estimated 250,000 tonnes of waste fuel that is currently in interim storage. A HOPE neutron source offers a potential means to capture the useful energy and significantly reduce waste volumes and reactivity.