Interfacial-Engineered Membranes for Efficient Tritium Extraction

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Program:
GAMOW
Award:
$1,397,973
Location:
Golden, Colorado
Status:
ACTIVE
Project Term:
01/01/2021 - 12/31/2023
Website:

Critical Need:

For more than 60 years, fusion research and development (R&D) has focused on attaining the required fuel density, temperature, and energy confinement time of the plasma fuel of a viable fusion energy system. Currently, relatively modest investments have been made in the required and equally critical enabling technologies and advanced materials surrounding the plasma fuel. The GAMOW program supports innovative R&D that will help establish both the technical and commercial viability of (i) all the required technologies and subsystems between the fusion plasma and the balance of plant, (ii) cost-effective, high-efficiency, high-duty-cycle driver technologies, and (iii) novel fusion materials and advanced manufacturing of these materials.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

One of the biggest challenges facing the practical deployment of fusion energy-based power is the effective management of tritium resources. Tritium, an isotope of hydrogen with a short half-life, is a fusion fuel and must be continuously generated, recovered, and recycled in any tritium-fueled fusion power plant. Currently, scalable tritium extraction and pumping technologies do not exist. Colorado School of Mines will develop and demonstrate engineered composite membranes for efficient tritium extraction from breeder media and the vessel exhaust. These membranes will be engineered for high performance, stability, and environmental compatibility. Atomic layer deposition and reactive sputtering will be used to modify surfaces and impart desired functionality. This technology enables a lower-cost and safer fusion energy system by eliminating major fuel cycle components and reducing tritium inventory, release, and required breeding ratios.

Potential Impact:

Successful development of fusion energy science and technology could lead to a safe, carbon-free, abundant energy source for developed and emerging economies.

Security:

The GAMOW program will advance American leadership in fusion energy science and technology.

Environment:

If successfully developed and commercialized, fusion energy can provide abundant, zero-carbon energy.

Economy:

Advances in GAMOW’s technical areas will help accelerate progress toward commercial fusion energy and a new zero-carbon energy economy.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Ahmed Diallo
Project Contact:
Colin Wolden
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
cwolden@mines.edu

Partners

Idaho National Laboratory

Related Projects

• Bridge 12 Technologies - High Efficiency, Megawatt-Class Gyrotrons for Instability Control of Burning-Plasma Machines
• Colorado School of Mines - Interfacial-Engineered Membranes for Efficient Tritium Extraction
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - Fusion Energy Reactor Models Integrator (FERMI)
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - Advance Castable Nanostructured Alloys for First-Wall/Blanket Applications
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) - Plasma-Facing Component Innovations by Advanced Manufacturing and Design
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - Microstructure Optimization and Novel Processing Development of ODS Steels for Fusion Environments
• Phoenix - Application of Plasma-Window Technology to Enable an Ultra-High-Flux DT Neutron Source
• Princeton Fusion Systems - Wide-Bandgap Semiconductor Amplifiers for Plasma Heating and Control
• Savannah River National Laboratory - EM-Enhanced HyPOR Loop for Fast Fusion Fuel Cycles
• Savannah River National Laboratory - Process Intensification Scale-Up of Direct LiT Electrolysis
• Stony Brook University - ENHANCED Shield: A Critical Materials Technology Enabling Compact Superconducting Tokamaks
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - AMPERE - Advanced Materials for Plasma-Exposed Robust Electrodes
• University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) - Renewable low-Z wall for fusion reactors with built-in tritium recovery
• University of Houston - Advanced HTS Conductors Customized for Fusion

Release Date:
09/02/2020