BMFTR Infrastructure project secured

 

Extension of the implantation capacity of the accelerator laboratory

Within the funding scheme “Basic Technologies for Fusion – Towards a Fusion Power Plant” by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), 2.2 million€ in funding were raised in the P2W division to add another particle accelerator to the IPP accelerator laboratory over the next three years. The funding will enable the purchase of a so-called ion implanter and finance a postdoctoral position for three years. The integration of the device into the existing laboratory structure and the upgrading of the existing tandem accelerator will be implemented as part of an IPP ‘Großmaßnahme‘.

In a future fusion power plant, high-energy fusion neutrons will cause damage to the crystal lattice of the materials used. At the same time, helium will be produced as a result of nuclear reactions. Research over the last decades showed that both act as capture sites for tritium and will potentially reduce the amount of tritium available for fusion. However, there is no facility anywhere in the world that can investigate the influence on tritium transport and retention under realistic conditions. The new facility will allow lattice damage to be created by heavy ion irradiation (e.g. tungsten, rhenium, iron, …) with the existing tandem accelerator, while at the same time introducing helium into the material with the new ion beam to be installed. This globally unique facility will then make it possible to generate reliable data that will enable to predict the effects of radiation damage on tritium balance in the materials of future fusion reactors.