Prospects for the Development of the Fusion Energy Industry in the Developed Countries of the World and in Ukraine
Journal Title: Проблеми економіки - Year 2014, Vol 2014, Issue 4
Abstract
The article discusses the primary directions and issues in the development of the fusion energy industry in the world and in Ukraine. Nuclear power-engineering based on uranium and plutonium fission was established to be the most significant alternative to hydrocarbons as of today, yet it is inevitably linked to two more global problems, namely disposal of highly active and spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive waste, as well as nuclear safety. The study shows that the fusion energy industry based on using the energy released during fusion of light nuclei has significant advantages - nuclear fusion can not only satisfy the current energy demands of mankind (16 TW), but also produce a much larger amount of energy; quite a small amount of common substances is required to fuel the process; the inherent safety of the fusion energy industry is at a high level; there is no long-lived high-level radioactive waste; yet there are disadvantages as well - technological complexity of running a self-sustained thermonuclear reaction; there are currently no effective technologies capable of converting the energy released during the thermonuclear fusion into electricity. The study also determined that today, the problem of forming the fusion energy industry is of the technical and economic rather than physical nature, as creation of economically sound power stations requires solving two principal tasks: continuation of the development of new materials capable of enduring severe service conditions; creation of new technologies in the sphere of remote control, containment design, fuel cycles, etc. The study proves that a possible way out of the energy impasse can be offered by "the cold fusion", that is the process of running completely safe low-energy nuclear reactions, for instance, on the basis of the nickel nanopowder and hydrogen, carried out in the E-Cat heat generator. The article also includes areas of focus outlined in the Targeted Research and Development Program of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine "Prospective Research in Plasma Physics, Controlled Thermonuclear Fusion and Plasma Technologies" for 2014-2016.
Authors and Affiliations
Igor Matyushenko
Keywords
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