ASSESSMENT OF OPTIONS FOR ATTRACTIVE COMMERCIAL AND DEMONSTRATION TOKAMAK FUSION POWER-PLANTS

The Starlite Project was initiated to investigate the mission, require ments and goals, features, and the R&D needs of the Fusion Demonstrati on Power Plant based on tokamak confinement concept. It is obvious tha t the Fusion Demo should demonstrate that a commercial fusion power pl ant would be accepted by utility and industry (i.e., it is affordable and profitable) and by the general public and government (i.e., it. ha s superior safety and environmental features). Therefore, as the first step in the Starlite project, a set of quantifiable top-level require ments, and goals for both commercial fusion power plants and the Fusio n Demo were developed. Nest, several candidate options for physics ope ration regime as well engineering design of various components (e.g., choice of structural material, coolant, breeder) have been developed a nd assessed. In each area, this assessment was aimed at investigating (I) the potential to satisfy the requirements and goals, and (2) the f easibility e.g., critical issues and credibility (e.g., degree extrapo lation required from present data base). This assessment led to the ch oice of the reversed-shear as the tokamak plasma operation regime and a self-cooled lithium design with vanadium alloy for blanket and in-ve ssel structures for detailed design. This paper presents a summary of top-level requirements and goals for fusion power and overviews the re sults of our assessment of tokamak plasma physics and technology optio ns and designs.