Tokamak Fusion Power Reactors

The major parameters and corresponding economic characteristics of a representative class of commercial tokamak fusion power reactors are examined as a function of four major design parameters: plasma βt, toroidal magnetic field strength, first-wall lifetime, and power output. It is shown that for βt ≥ 0.06, the minimum cost of energy is obtained for toroidal field strengths of ~8 to 9 T. Tokamak power plants exhibit an economy of scaling with a lower cost of energy for larger power reactors. Representative design parameters, costs, schedule, and technology advances are presented for a sequence of three reactors that could lead to the demonstration of commercial feasibility of this class of tokamak fusion power reactors near the turn of the century.