Commonwealth Fusion Systems - Accelerating Commercial Fusion Energy
Speakers:
Jack Vargas, Manager Remote Maintenance
Cody Dennett, Director, Materials and Processing
Abstract:
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) was spun out of MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center to leverage decades of fusion research and combine it with the innovation and speed of the private sector. CFS builds fusion devices called tokamaks. Tokamaks confine the power of stars in the form of plasma using magnetic fields, creating conditions to produce fusion power. CFS has developed novel magnet technology that unlocks a pathway to smaller and more efficient fusion devices, and thus to economical fusion power. In Devens, Massachusetts, we are currently constructing SPARC, a demonstration fusion device that incorporates our magnet technology into a tokamak. SPARC is designed to de-risk many of the power-plant subsystems in addition to its primary mission of demonstrating net energy gain (Q>1). Simultaneously, we are advancing the design of our commercial power plant, called ARC. The first ARC will be located in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and will produce 400 megawatts of clean, zero-carbon power. CFS has also established a strategic partnership with Google, who has agreed to purchase half the first plant’s power. CFS expects to start generating power with ARC in the early 2030s.
