References

• J.G. Delene, "Updated Comparison of Economics of Fusion Reactors," Fusion Technology, Vol. 19, pp. 807 (1991).
  
  
• W.J. Hogan, Editor, Energy from Inertial Fusion, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria (1995) (457 pages).
  The best current, comprehensive reference on all aspects of IFE technology. (U.S. and Canada address orders and inquiries to UNIPUB, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391; others to Sales and Promotion Unit, IAEA, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400, Vienna, Austria).
  
  
• R. W. Moir, "IFE Power Plant Design Strategy," Fusion Technology, Vol. 30, pp. 1613-1623, 1996.
  A recent technical and economic description of the HYLIFE-II IFE power plant design. "ABSTRACT--If the present research program is successful, heavy-ion beams can be used to ignite targets and to produce high gain for yields of about 400 MJ. HYLIFE-II is a power plant design based on surrounding such targets with thick liquid Flibe, (Li2BeF4) so that the chamber and other apparatus can stand up to these bursts of energy at 6 Hz for 1 GWe without replacing components during the plant's 30-year life. With liquid protection the capacity factor will be increased and the cost of component replacement will be decreased. The design is robust to technology risks in the sense that if the performance of targets, drivers and other components fall short of predictions, the cost of electricity rises surprisingly little. For example at 2 GWe, if it takes twice as much energy to ignite a target as previously projected instead of only 1.5 times, the COE increases 9% from 4 ¢/kWh, and if the driver cost is increased by 30%, the COE increases by 12%.
  The design strategy we recommend is to use conventional engineering principles and known materials in an optimized way to obtain the lowest cost of electricity while keeping the design robust to short falls in predicted cost and performance of components. For a number of components with a high technology risk we have fall-back options. However, good target performance (Gain > 50 for driver energy < 7 MJ) and low cost drivers (<800 M$ direct at driver energy ( 7 MJ) would be helpful to achieving good economics."
  
  
• R.W. Moir et al., "HYLIFE-II: A Molten-Salt Inertial Fusion Energy Power Plant Design--Final Report," Fusion Technology, Vol. 25, pp. 5-25, 1994.
  A comprehensive technical and economic description of the HYLIFE-II IFE power plant design. "ABSTRACT--Enhanced safety and performance improvements have been made to the liquid-wall HYLIFE reactor, yielding the current HYLIFE-II conceptual design. Liquid lithium has been replaced with a neutronically thick array of flowing molten-salt jets (Li₂BeF₄ or Flibe), which will not burn, has a low tritium solubility and inventory, and protects the chamber walls, giving a robust design with a 30-yr lifetime. The tritium inventory is 0.5 g in the molten salt and 140 g in the metal of the tube walls, where it is less easily released. The 5-MJ driver is a recirculating induction accelerator estimated to cost $570 million (direct costs). Heavy-ion targets yield 350 MJ, six times per second, to produce 950 MW of electrical power for a cost of 6.5¢/kW h. Both larger and smaller yields are possible with correspondingly lower and higher pulse rates. When scaled up to to 1934 MW(electric), the plant design has a calculated cost of electricity of 4.5¢/kWh."
  
  
• President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, Panel on Energy Research and Development, "Report to the President on Federal Energy Research and Development for the Challenges of the Twenty-First Century," November 1997.
  Available in PDF format at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OSTP/Energy/
  Abstract: "The United States faces major energy-related challenges as it enters the twenty-first century. Our economic well-being depends on reliable, affordable supplies of energy. Our environmental well-being-from improving urban air quality to abating the risk of global warming-requires a mix of energy sources that emits less carbon dioxide and other pollutants than today's mix does. Our national security requires secure supplies of oil or alternatives to it, as well as prevention of nuclear proliferation. And for reasons of economy, environment, security, and stature as a world power alike, the United States must maintain its leadership in the science and technology of energy supply and use."
  
  
• R. Petzoldt, Item from LBNL IFE News Letter, January-February 1998, Update on LBNL Target Injection and Tracking System.
  Recent newsletter item on target injection research: "Data from one photodiode detector set near the gun barrel and another 1 m downstream yield a "predicted" position of the moving "target" 3 m from the barrel. We achieve 0.1 mm standard deviation between "predicted" and measured positions in both transverse directions, and timing that gives 0.3 mm accuracy in position along the path. Target (projectile) and barrel rifling have reduced the standard deviation of measured tumble angle to less than 10 mrad. We are designing and building electronic hardware to do real-time position prediction calculations; these are now done long after the shot. The real-time data will be used to electrostatically steer the ion beam from the final focus experiment to pass through a 1 mm radius hole drilled in the target. We are also building and testing a gas baffle system and shutter valve to keep propellant gas out of the ion beam chamber."
  
  
• "Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program, Final Report," National Academy Press, Washington, DC (1990).
  The 1990 National Academy of Sciences review of the US ICF program discusses the remaining uncertainties in target ignition that must be resolved by experiments using a NIF-size driver, and concludes that with the current models and experiments "uncertainties in ignition arise only from mix, symmetry, and laser-plasma interaction, phenomena that can best be studied in laboratory experiments." The most recent NAS review can be found at National Academy of Sciences review of DOE Inertial Confinement Fusion Research
  
  
• J.G. Woodworth and W.R. Meier, "Target Production for Inertial Fusion Energy," Fusion Technology, Vol. 31, pp. 280-290 (1990).
  A recent and useful reference for IFE target mass production methods and potential costs. "ABSTRACT: Inertial fusion energy (IFE) power plants will require the ignition and burn of five to ten fusion fuel targets every second. The technology to economically mass produce high-quality precision targets at this rate is beyond the current state of the art. Techniques that are scalable to high production rates, however, have been identified for all the necessary process steps, and many have been tested in laboratory experiments or are similar to current commercial manufacturing processes. A baseline target factory conceptual design is described, and its capital and operating costs are estimated. The result is a total produciton cost of ~16¢/target. At this level, target production represents `6% of the estimated cost of electricity from a 1-GW (electric) IFE power plant. Cost scaling relationships are presented and used to sho the variation in target cost with production rate and plant power levels."