Power plant conceptual studies in Europe

TLDR

The European fusion programme is reactor‑oriented and seeks to demonstrate the scientific, technological, and economic feasibility of fusion power, covering a spectrum from near‑term to advanced concepts. The study seeks to demonstrate the scientific, technological, and economic feasibility of fusion power. The European Power Plant Conceptual Study evaluated five tokamak‑based commercial fusion plant designs, each around 1500 MWe, to explore system integration across a range of near‑term to advanced concepts.

Abstract

The European fusion programme is 'reactor oriented' and it is aimed at the successive demonstration of the scientific, the technological and the economic feasibility of fusion power. The European Power Plant Conceptual Study (PPCS) has been a study of conceptual designs of five commercial fusion power plants and the main emphasis was on system integration. It focused on five power plant models which are illustrative of a wider spectrum of possibilities. They are all based on the tokamak concept and they have approximately the same net electrical power output, 1500 MWe. These span a range from relatively near-term, based on limited technology and plasma physics extrapolations, to an advanced conception.