The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $128 million in funding for Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) Collaboratives. The funding was awarded to seven teams focused on creating a fusion energy science and technology innovation ecosystem by forming virtual, centrally managed teams. The selected teams aim to bridge the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences program's basic science research and growing fusion industries.
Two of these teams will be led by PPPL:
- Nathaniel Ferraro's project, Mitigating Risks from Abrupt Confinement Loss (MiRACL), will study what happens when the plasma's energy suddenly escapes the confining magnetic field that keeps it away from the walls of the fusion system. MiRACL will partner with industry to find ways to manage the associated risks.
Collaborators include: Cesar Clauser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Davide Curreli, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Yashika Ghai, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Christopher Hansen, Columbia University; Valerie Izzo, Fiat Lux; Rogerio Jorge, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Brendan Lyons, General Atomics; Mathias Hoppe, KTH Royal Institute of Technology; Jacob Merson, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Jacobo Varela-Rodriguez, University of Texas at Austin.
- Rajesh Maingi's project will solve key technical problems with liquid metal plasma-facing materials and wall concepts so that liquid metals can be considered for fusion pilot plant designs. Research will include four main challenges: testing protective materials, understanding material properties, studying how liquid metals behave in magnetic fields and developing new metal alloys.
Collaborators include: Daniel Andruczyk, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Bruce E. Koel, Princeton University; Michael Kotschenreuther, ExoFusion; Sergey Smolentsev, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Vlad Soukhanovskii, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Xing Wang, Pennsylvania State University; Kevin Woller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Lane Carasik, Virginia Commonwealth University.
PPPL's Ammar Hakim will take part in a third project, led by Ben Lindley of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, that will focus on fusion neutrons for integrated blanket technology development using advanced testing and design.
Background on FIRE:
DOE expects to invest up to $220 million in total funding for the FIRE Collaboratives spanning over four years, with $31 million in fiscal year 2025 dollars and out-year funding remaining contingent on congressional appropriations.
