MIT claim they will build the SPARC

[Carl White]

A look into the site where SPARC will soon sit, as the construction crew makes progress every day inside our Tokamak Hall.

[crowberry]

The CFS project Commercial fusion power on a decadal timescale with the compact, high-field ARC power plant was awarded a grant from the DOE $46 Million Milestone-Based Fusion Development programme. The CFS press release on this topic mentions what they will be doing with the funding:

CFS milestones include manufacturing and testing its first fusion magnet for SPARC, launching a fusion community benefits program that includes strong commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and energy justice (EJ) as part of that process, developing the design and technology roadmap for CFS’ first commercial fusion power plant, and submitting its ARC physics basis papers.

https://cfs.energy/news-and-media/cfs-d ... nt-program

[usesbiggerwords]

launching a fusion community benefits program that includes strong commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) and energy justice (EJ) as part of that process

These are dollars that could be spent doing, you know, actual fusion. I have less confidence now about this project.

[mvanwink5]

As if words can bend reality, these political fools put the word 'Justice' into everything. Right out of the 1984 playbook, turning fiction into harsh, gas lighting life. Gag. CFS is a Gates Grift platform.

[crowberry]

The dollars will undoubteldy be spent on the SPARC magnets and on the ARC development work. A diverse workforce is good so that they have access to a broad range of talent. A policy like that will not cost extra.

[sd_matt]

No.

The proper way to do this is expand equality of opportunity through reforming the public school system, putting the kaibash on the university tuition price gouging and so on.

DEI, race quotas, affirmative action and the like are a tacit admission of the utter failure and or lack of will to commmit to meaningful education reform.

DEI is just some power grab one has to sieg heil to and amounts to the Soviet Navy's political officers. It is just as revolting to me as Christian fundamentalist psudoscience but way more pernicious.

[Carl White]

Assembling the bridge cranes. The people and vehicles there give a sense of scale:

[usesbiggerwords]

Dr. Whyte was on Jordan Peterson's podcast

https://youtu.be/Ftnt7KoRTIk?feature=shared

[ladajo]

I gotta say, I too hope they keep the silly populist politics out of the project's reality and just focus on science. You couldn't be more DEI if you did.
In other news, that is a big hole!

[Carl White]

"Tests show high-temperature superconducting magnets are ready for fusion"

Detailed study of magnets built by MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems confirms they meet requirements for an economic, compact fusion power plant.

https://news.mit.edu/2024/tests-show-hi ... ready-0304

One of the dramatic innovations, which had many others in the field skeptical of its chances of success, was the elimination of insulation around the thin, flat ribbons of superconducting tape that formed the magnet. Like virtually all electrical wires, conventional superconducting magnets are fully protected by insulating material to prevent short-circuits between the wires. But in the new magnet, the tape was left completely bare; the engineers relied on REBCO’s much greater conductivity to keep the current flowing through the material.

[ladajo]

Now that is interesting.
Lots of thoughts circulating in my mind seeking cohesion, direction, and purpose.
Kind of like an uninsulated coil of wire.

[crowberry]

CFS has announced the following:

This month, CFS received a broad-scope radioactive materials license from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for our SPARC fusion machine. By showing we’ve equipped ourselves with the people and procedures to safely handle and store these materials, we’ve taken a big step ahead on the path toward operating SPARC.

[Skipjack]

One of the dramatic innovations, which had many others in the field skeptical of its chances of success, was the elimination of insulation around the thin, flat ribbons of superconducting tape that formed the magnet. Like virtually all electrical wires, conventional superconducting magnets are fully protected by insulating material to prevent short-circuits between the wires. But in the new magnet, the tape was left completely bare; the engineers relied on REBCO’s much greater conductivity to keep the current flowing through the material.

[/quote]

I believe that Tokamak Energy was doing the same thing.

[crowberry]

CFS has developed a second type of new superconducting magnets for their needs::

Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ second breakthrough superconducting technology handles mammoth pulses of power
https://www.cfs.energy/news-and-media/c ... s-of-power

The CFS SPARC Q>1 schedule has slipped again. The new target year for Q>1 is 2027.
Inside a fusion energy facility

While there’s still very little tokamak in the tokamak hall right now, Commonwealth has an ambitious timeline planned: The goal is to have SPARC running and the first plasma in the reactor by 2026. The company plans to demonstrate that it can produce more energy in the reactor than is needed to power it (a milestone known as Q>1 in the fusion world) by 2027.

When we published our 2022 story on Commonwealth, the plan was to flip on the reactor and reach the Q>1 milestone by 2025, so the timeline has slipped. It’s not uncommon for big projects in virtually every industry to take longer than expected.

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/1 ... -facility/

[Skipjack]

To be fair, everyone has seen delays. This is not uncommon with large engineering projects. Helion has seen delays too, mostly due to supply problems and the need to build more in-house. I am sure CFS experienced the same if not worse with their much more complex machine and need for a lot of HTSC tape. While I wished it was not so, I am not really holding that against someone.