Overview of the DEMO staged design approach in Europe

TLDR

The DEMO design will draw heavily on ITER experience in design, licensing, and construction. This paper reports on European pre‑conceptual design activities for DEMO, aiming to demonstrate a few hundred MW of net electricity, a closed‑tritium fuel cycle, and maintenance systems that achieve adequate plant availability. An integrated system‑engineering approach, with gate‑reviewed readiness and technology maturation, embeds industry experience to address interdependencies, uncertainties, and critical aspects such as safety, licensing, costs, maintenance, and power conversion.

Abstract

This paper describes the status of the pre-conceptual design activities in Europe to advance the technical basis of the design of a DEMOnstration Fusion Power Plant (DEMO) to come in operation around the middle of this century with the main aims of demonstrating the production of few hundred MWs of net electricity, the feasibility of operation with a closed-tritium fuel cycle, and maintenance systems capable of achieving adequate plant availability. This is expected to benefit as much as possible from the ITER experience, in terms of design, licensing, and construction. Emphasis is on an integrated design approach, based on system engineering, which provides a clear path for urgent R&D and addresses the main design integration issues by taking account critical systems interdependencies and inherent uncertainties of important design assumptions (physics and technology). A design readiness evaluation, together with a technology maturation and down selection strategy are planned through structured and transparent Gate Reviews. By embedding industry experience in the design from the beginning it will ensure that early attention is given to technology readiness and industrial feasibility, costs, maintenance, power conversion, nuclear safety and licensing aspects.