Deadline: April 21, 2023
At the center of our solar system and in the heart of active stars across the Universe, fusion generates the energy that delivers brilliance to both our day and nighttime skies. Under powerful gravitational fields, hydrogen atoms fuse into helium while releasing immense amount of energy and you’ve got a massive fusion powerplant, the sun, the ultimate clean and limitless source of energy. Scientists and engineers across the world are in pursuit of creating ‘the sun in a bottle’ – a fusion power plant – with the goal of creating the ultimate clean and sustainable energy source on earth. The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) are two leading organizations in the field of fusion developing such devices.
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is the UK national laboratory for fusion energy and operates the Joint European Torus (JET) experiment, which currently holds the record for the highest fusion power produced.
CFS spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and is collaborating with MIT’s Plasmas Science and Fusion Center to leverage decades of research, combined with innovation and the speed of the private sector. Supported by the world’s leading investors in breakthrough energy technologies, the CFS team is uniquely positioned to deliver limitless, clean, fusion power to combat climate change.
There has yet to be a commercially relevant net energy fusion device. However, Tokamaks, a donut-shaped machine that confines fusion plasmas with a strong magnetic field are pushing towards the commercialization of relevant fusion energy. Tokamaks have been successfully constructed and studied around the world and have proven high performance. Unique operating conditions in Tokamaks require the use of specialized materials that can tolerate extreme conditions. Making fusion energy a reality will require innovations across many domains, including materials, manufacturing, and testing technologies.
Fusion materials can be divided into two broad categories: 1/ first wall materials and 2/ structural materials. The immediate surface next to plasma, first wall, is subjected to high temperatures, high heat fluxes, and electromagnetic fields, in addition to exposure to neutrons, electrons, and ions. Consequently, material selection is limited to certain refractory materials, such as tungsten and tungsten-heavy alloys. These first wall materials must be joined to the structural materials which, in addition to the first wall conditions, must withstand static and dynamic loads of the machine. Examples of suitable supporting materials include: reduced activation ferritic martensitic steel, nickel-based superalloys, high nickel content steel-based alloys, and austenitic steels.
To advance the development of fusion power plants, these two organizations jointly sponsor the Fusion Manufacturing Challenge.
The Challenge seeks to identify:
- Innovative new joining/bonding technologies for dissimilar materials, and
- Cutting-edge, non-destructive testing equipment to verify and inspect those bonds
Through this Challenge, UKAEA and CFS want to engage with innovators, entrepreneurs, industry and academic experts, founders, and organizations who are developing effective and efficient technologies across all sectors which can help accelerate the deployment of clean, abundant, and limitless fusion energy.
Webinar and office Hours
On March 28, 2023 at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time, please join us for an informational webinar. During this webinar, you’ll hear about the challenge directly from representatives of UKAEA, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and TechConnect. Additionally, those representatives will answer your questions during a live Q&A session to follow the presentation.
Click here to register for the webinar. Have questions? Want to hear what others are asking about the Fusion Manufacturing Challenge? Sign up to attend Office Hours with a representative from TechConnect on April 11, 2023 at 11 AM Eastern Standard Time. Ask your questions during the one-hour Q&A. Register here.
Timeline
March 8: Applications Open
March 28: Webinar
April 11: Office Hours
April 21: Applications Close
May 9: Finalist Selection
May 24: Finalist Webinar
June 20: Pitch Day
Guidelines
We seek technologies that focus on joining dissimilar high temperature refractory materials to suitable structural alloys, inspecting the joining processes, and assessing quality of the joints. The capabilities of interest are, but not limited to:
Bonding Technologies
Tokamaks use many novel materials which are required to be bonded to each other. These materials have very high melting temperatures, such as Tungsten, or specialized alloys where conventional joining techniques are unsuitable and innovative bonding methods are needed.
Materials to be bonded include:
- Tungsten and its alloys
- Beryllium
- Ferritic martensitic steel
- Stainless steel
- Copper and its alloys
Proposed approaches must:
- Address dissimilar thermal expansion across material boundaries
- Joints must be safe under high degree of vacuum
NDT Inspections
Once materials have been bonded, it’s crucial to confirm the integrity of the joints. The joints between dissimilar materials can be particularly challenging. To that end, effective testing techniques are needed. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) approaches will allow UKAEA and CFS to inspect components prior to, during and after operation. All technologies for non-destructive inspecting of bonding are in scope, including ones adapted from outside the energy market.
Participants are welcome to adapt solutions from other industries that can be utilized to solve fusion materials challenges.
Proposed approaches must:
- Be suitable for specialized alloys, including:
- Tungsten and its alloys
- Beryllium
- Ferritic martensitic steel
- Stainless steel
- Copper and its alloys
- Identify and quantify flaws in bonds between first wall and structural materials
Technical Maturity
While UKAEA and CFS have the greatest interest in technologies and approaches that are closer to commercial implementation, all technical maturities are eligible to enter this Challenge.
How to Enter
To participate in the Fusion Manufacturing Challenge, you must submit your response online prior to the submission deadline: Friday, April 21 by 8pm Eastern Standard Time. Responses must include only non-confidential, non-proprietary content. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Why Enter?
Following the Challenge, up to ten (10) finalists will be invited to discuss details surrounding possible long-term collaboration with both UKAEA and CFS, such as joint development or technology licensing. Finalists are not required to enter into a contract with either UKAEA or CFS in order to win the Challenge.
All finalists will receive a fully-paid registration for up to two (2) individuals to attend TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo at National Harbor near Washington, D.C. in June 2023 (transportation and hotel not included) to take part in the Fusion Energy Symposium.
Furthermore, TechConnect, a division of Advanced Technology International, will introduce finalists to representatives from the various consortia which ATI manages. Consortia span numerous industries and applications and represent over $50B in contract authority with the US government. For the full list of consortia, please visit the ATI Collaborations page.
Evaluation
A review committee will evaluate all eligible responses to the Challenge according to the following criteria:
- Engaging description of proposed technology: 25 points
- Effectiveness of proposed technology: 25 points
- Potential for long-term engagement with UKAEA and/or Commonwealth Fusion Systems: 15 points
- Convincing pathway to commercial implementation: 15 points
- Innovation: 10 points
- Proposal clarity: 5 points
- Technical maturity: 5 points
Reviewers will select up to ten (10) respondents as finalists, and they will each receive two (2) free registrations for the TechConnect World Innovation Conference at National Harbor near Washington, D.C. in June 2023. Furthermore, finalists will be invited to present their technologies during the TechConnect Fusion Energy Symposium.