Insights into fuel start-up and self-sufficiency for fusion energy: The case of CFETR

Abstract

Commercial tritium resources available are too scarce to fully supply the future fusion reactors after International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Tritium self-sufficiency, ITER fails to fully validate, was regarded as one of the most important issues needed to be solved in the pathway of achieving fusion energy. After ITER, several concepts of fusion engineering test reactors and fusion demonstration reactors have been proposed worldwide, for example, Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF), DEMOnstration fusion reactor (DEMO) in European Union and Korea. CFETR is in the engineering design phase and would be hopefully completed around 2020. Tritium resources for the reactor start-up and tritium self-sufficiency are two primary issues besides the steady-state operation for CFETR. The objectives of this work are as follows: (a) to introduce the preliminary fuel cycle concept and available tritium resources for CFETR, (b) to evaluate and discuss the tritium demand for CFETR start-up (phase I: 200 MW) and the feasibility of DD start-up, (c) to identify the possible pathways to tritium self-sufficiency through sensitivity analysis based on the design baseline of CFETR, (d) to evaluate the consequences in case of failing tritium self-sufficiency, and (e) to identify future R&D needed for tritium self-sufficiency. It is expected to give insights into the question on how to start the reactor in a more economical way, into the feasibility of tritium self-sufficiency, and into the question on what will happen in case of failing tritium self-sufficiency.