Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of bringing the sun to earth: A sustainability analysis of a fusion power plant deployment

Banacloche, Santacruz; Gamarra, Ana Rosa; Lechón, Yolanda; Bustreo, Chiara

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2020.118460

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…With the current focus on achieving carbon neutrality, nuclear fusion has drawn more attention because it does not produce carbon dioxide during power generation and does not generate high-level radioactive waste 1 . To obtain massive electricity from nuclear fusion reactor economically, plasmas with high fusion performance in steady-state conditions for long pulse durations must be maintained.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sustained high-temperature fusion plasma regime facilitated by fast ions

Han

Park

Sung

et al. 2022

Nature

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We report a discovery of a fusion plasma regime suitable for commercial fusion reactor where the ion temperature was sustained above 100 million degree about 20 s for the rst time. Nuclear fusion as a promising technology for replacing carbon-dependent energy sources has currently many issues to be resolved to enable its large-scale use as a sustainable energy source. State-of-the-art fusion reactors cannot yet achieve the high levels of fusion performance, high temperature, and absence of instabilities required for steady-state operation for a long period of time on the order of hundreds of seconds. This is a pressing challenge within the eld, as the development of methods that would enable such capabilities is essential for the successful construction of commercial fusion reactor. Here, a new plasma con nement regime called fast ion roled enhancement (FIRE) mode is presented. This mode is realized at Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) and subsequently characterized to show that it meets most of the requirements for fusion reactor commercialization. Through a comparison to other well-known plasma con nement regimes, the favourable properties of FIRE mode are further elucidated and concluded that the novelty lies in the high fraction of fast ions, which acts to stabilize turbulence and achieve steady-state operation for up to 20 s by self-organization. We propose this mode as a promising path towards commercial fusion reactors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A sustained high-temperature fusion plasma regime facilitated by fast ions

Han

Park

Sung

et al. 2022

Nature

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“…Using comtrade.un.org, a database for product flows all over the world, can help indicating the products or industries most probable origin (United Nations, 2021). Banacloche et al 2020 decided to do the assignment based on the country where the consisting part is produced as the supplier was a partner within the research project (Banacloche et al, 2020). As a result, a marginal technology's direct impact on the demand in the different industry sectors in the different countries is defined.…”

Section: Approach 2 -Io Based Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, they analysed whether utilizing different global databases for MRIO results in the same findings. Banachloche et al (Banacloche et al, 2020) assessed the socioeconomic and environmental impacts future investments in building and operating fusion power plants might have. They used a MRIO assessment method to identify total economic stimulation in the different economic sectors by an increase in the demand of goods and services, due to the investment and operation of the fusion power plant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The field of application was manifold. Most frequent was infrastructure assessment (Banacloche et al, 2020;Corona et al, 2016) and historical evaluation of certain industries Konstantas et al, 2019;Kucukvar et al, 2019;May & Brennan, 2006). Besides Corona et al (Corona et al, 2016), all references utilized something similar to 'gross value added', while the mentioned publication additionally focused on 'net value added' including relevant effects resulting from the technology's substitution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides Corona et al (Corona et al, 2016), all references utilized something similar to 'gross value added', while the mentioned publication additionally focused on 'net value added' including relevant effects resulting from the technology's substitution. Many publications executed their assessment based on detailed cost information gained from quotations within the framework of research projects (Banacloche et al, 2020;Corona et al, 2016) Two approaches for assessing the 'domestic value added' for a technology in the LCSA environment are presented. Some general assumptions are valid for both approaches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Domestic Value Added as an Indicator for Sustainability Assessment – a Case Study on Alternative Drivetrains in the Passenger Car Sector

Harzendorf

Wulf

Hasse

et al. 2022

Preprint

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In order to broaden the economic pillar in sustainability assessment the indicator ‘domestic value added’ is introduced. ‘Domestic value added’ aims at comparing technologies with regards to their prospective influence on the added value of a country. This is done by classifying a technology’s value added to the developed categories domestic, potential domestic and non-domestic. Within this paper methods for estimating this indicator are introduced. Two methods are proposed, presented and assessed especially considering their applicability in a sustainability assessment context. Both methods are tested on a case study comparing two alternative drivetrain technologies for the passenger car sector (battery and fuel cell electric vehicle) to the conventionally used internal combustion engine. The first method is based on a classic economic assessment whereas the second is based on Input Output analysis. The results show, that from a ‘domestic value added’ perspective the battery electric vehicle is already more advantageous than the conventionally used internal combustion engine in percentage and absolute numbers. Fuel cell electric vehicles have the highest potential to increase their ‘domestic value added’ share in the future. This paper gives practical information on how to prospectively assess ‘domestic value added’ due to substituting existing with less developed technologies or innovation.

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Domestic value added as an indicator for sustainability assessment: a case study on alternative drivetrains in the passenger car sector

Harzendorf

Wulf

Haase

et al. 2022

Clean Techn Environ Policy

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To strengthen the economic pillar in sustainability assessment, the indicator ‘domestic value added’ is introduced. It aims at comparing established and less developed technologies regarding their prospective value added in a country. This is done by classifying a technology’s value added to the developed categories: domestic, potential domestic and non-domestic. Within this paper, two methods for assessing this indicator are introduced focussing on their applicability in a sustainability assessment context. Both methods are tested on a case study comparing two alternative drivetrain technologies for the passenger car sector (battery and fuel cell electric vehicle) to the conventionally used internal combustion engine. The first method is life cycle cost-based whereas the second is based on Input Output analysis. If a life cycle cost assessment is already available for the technology under assessment, the easier to implement life cycle cost-based approach is recommended, as the results are similar to the more complex Input Output-based approach. From the ‘domestic value added’ perspective, the battery electric vehicle is already more advantageous than the conventional internal combustion engine over the lifecycle. Fuel cell electric vehicles have the highest potential to increase their ‘domestic value added’ share in the future. This paper broadens the economic pillar in sustainability assessment by introducing a new indicator ‘domestic value added’ and giving practical information on how to prospectively assess it for existing and less developed technologies or innovations. Graphical abstract

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Socioeconomic and environmental impacts of bringing the sun to earth: A sustainability analysis of a fusion power plant deployment

Cited by 17 publications

References 40 publications

A sustained high-temperature fusion plasma regime facilitated by fast ions

A sustained high-temperature fusion plasma regime facilitated by fast ions

Domestic Value Added as an Indicator for Sustainability Assessment – a Case Study on Alternative Drivetrains in the Passenger Car Sector

Domestic value added as an indicator for sustainability assessment: a case study on alternative drivetrains in the passenger car sector

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