{"id":15267,"date":"2024-07-04T14:58:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T14:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1408199"},"modified":"2024-07-04T14:58:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T14:58:16","slug":"worlds-largest-fusion-reactor-hit-by-more-delays-and-spiralling-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=15267","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s largest fusion reactor hit by more delays and spiralling costs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span>ITER \u2014 which is set to become the world\u2019s biggest fusion reactor, and one of history\u2019s most expensive science experiments \u2014 has reached a key milestone on its mission to create a mini Sun on Earth. But despite the apparent progress, the megaproject has also been hit by yet more delays and surging costs.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Nineteen giant magnetic coils \u2014 each measuring 17 metres tall and weighing 360 tonnes \u2014 have finally been delivered to southern France, where ITER is being constructed.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The magnets will form a cage around a donut-shaped chamber called a tokamak. Here they will create a magnetic field that confines super hot plasma, keeping it stable for long enough for a fusion reaction to occur. The magnets, which are super-cooled to \u2013269\u00b0C, also keep the whole machine from melting under the extreme temperatures of the plasma, which can reach up to 10 times hotter than the Sun\u2019s core.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1408202 size-full js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/07\/ITER-magnet.jpeg\" alt=\"An image of the inside of ITER tokamak reactor\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\"><figcaption>The interior of the tokamak under construction. One of the huge D-shaped magnets can be see on the left hand side of the image. Credit: ITER<\/figcaption><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1408202 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/07\/ITER-magnet.jpeg\" alt=\"An image of the inside of ITER tokamak reactor\" width=\"1024\" height=\"678\"><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p><span>\u201cThe delivery of these magnets is a momentous occasion that will allow ITER to reach its objectives,\u201d said the project\u2019s director general, Pietro Barabaschi, during a press conference yesterday.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yet, Barabaschi also announced that the megaproject will only switch on in 2034, and start producing energy in 2039. That\u2019s almost a decade later than originally planned, and a four-year delay from the most recent timeline, announced in 2016.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>What\u2019s more, the price tag, already estimated at \u20ac20bn, will rise by \u20ac5bn. The extra time and money will allow ITER to commission a machine capable of \u201cfull magnetic energy and current\u201d rather than a \u201crelatively \u2018naked\u2019 machine\u201d \u2014 which would be the case if the project stuck to its 2016 target, said Barabaschi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Barabaschi has largely blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the most recent delay. However, manufacturing issues, such as the discovery of<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iter.org\/newsline\/-\/3830\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> <span>cracks in the water pipes<\/span><\/a><span> that cool the thermal shields, have also slowed progress.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However, the reality is that harnessing fusion energy is, simply put, really bloody difficult. Even harder perhaps than scientists first predicted.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>ITER risks falling behind&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span>ITER was first conceived in 1985 and launched in 2006 by a coalition of 35 countries and regions including the EU, United States, Russia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Back then, it had a budget of \u20ac5bn, with the EU providing the bulk of the funding.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The reactor was designed to be an experiment, not a commercially viable reactor. Its overall aim is to produce 500 MW of fusion power for extended periods, proving that it\u2019s possible to sustain fusion reactions for a long enough period to produce electricity.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But with dozens of private companies now developing their own commercial fusion machines, there\u2019s a risk that ITER may become obsolete by the time it eventually powers up. Boosted by a surge of private capital and unconstrained by geopolitics, startups like <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/uk-fusion-startup-tokamak-energy-trials-plasma-stabilising-laser\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tokamak Energy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/uk-fusion-startup-breaks-pressure-record-giant-gun-z-machine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Light Fusion<\/a>, Marvel Fusion and <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/german-startup-fusion-stellarator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Proxima Fusion<\/a> may leapfrog to the finish line.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The ultimate goal for these companies, most of which aim to have a reactor ready by the early 2030s, is to create fusion reactions that burn hot enough and last long enough to produce a steady flow of electricity. That\u2019s something that has never been done before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Nevertheless, with the promise of virtually limitless, clean, reliable energy, taking a crack at building a little star on Earth is probably worth the effort \u2014 even if we have to wait around for a while to see the efforts bear fruit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/worlds-largest-fusion-reactor-hit-by-more-delays-and-spiralling-costs\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ITER \u2014 which is set to become the world\u2019s biggest fusion reactor, and one of history\u2019s most expensive science experiments \u2014 has reached a key milestone on its mission to create a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15267"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}