The 100 MW project with a targeted Q factor greater than 30, could become a reality by 2030.
- The Q factor is the ratio of energy produced to energy consumed in heating the plasma inside the fusion reactor.
About Fusion-Fission Hybrid Reactor
Nuclear Fission and Nuclear Fusion
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- Concept: Uses high intensity neutron flux produced by a fusion reactor to drive a nuclear fission reaction, and breed fissile fuel from fertile materials.
- Design: Contains a nuclear fusion reactor core where deuterium and tritium nuclei are fused to form helium and a fast neutron, surrounded by a blanket of fertile material (like uranium-238 or thorium-232).
Key Striking features of the Hybrid Reactor
- Capitalises on the advantages of Fusion and Fission: Fusion reactors are ‘neutron rich’ and ‘power poor’ while fission reactors are ‘neutron poor’ and ‘power rich’.
- Low Power Requirements: Fusion power required for hybrid reactor is lesser than pure fusion as its major purpose is the production of neutrons (not energy).
- Reduced Radioactive Wastes: Neutron flux in the blanket could transmute long-lived radioactive waste into less harmful, short lived, and easier to dispose wastes.
- Fuel Supply: Hybrid reactor would produce enough fissile fuel through breeding.
- The fusion neutrons can convert fertile materials into fissile materials (like plutonium-239 or uranium-233) increasing fuel supply.