DOE Laboratory to Lead 3 New Fusion Energy Research Projects

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has announced that it will oversee three new DOE-funded fusion energy research projects on ways to accelerate the technology’s adoption into the power grid. 

According to Phil Snyder, interim director of ORNL’s Fusion Energy Division, the projects mainly seek to combine fusion science and technology for cost-effective energy systems. Fusion energy production research draws momentum from the increasing demand for zero-carbon power generation and energy security concerns, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory said.

Two of the research projects are among the 12 award recipients under the DOE’s $112 million Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing program announced in August. The program funds fusion scientists, applied mathematicians and computer scientists collaborating to maximize the use of high-performance computing.

One of the ORNL-led SciDAC projects, the Fusion Reactor Design and Assessment, will get $9.2 million over four years. It brings together the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, General Atomics, Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California, San Diego.

The DOE has also extended fusion energy funding to the commercial sector, with the $46 million funding it awarded in August to eight companies pursuing fusion power plant designs, research and development.