[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 58 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18130-18131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06176]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Fusion Prototypic Neutron Source (FPNS)

AGENCY: Office of Science, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Request for information (RFI).

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SUMMARY: The Office of Science in the Department of Energy (DOE) 
invites interested parties to provide input on potential technological 
approaches to meet the needs of the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) 
program for a Fusion Prototypic Neutron Source (FPNS) and on potential 
ways to accelerate the construction and delivery of such a facility, 
including partnerships with the private sector.

DATES: Responses to the RFI must be received by May 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: DOE is using the www.regulations.gov system for the 
submission and posting of public comments in this proceeding. All 
comments in response to this RFI are therefore to be submitted 
electronically through www.regulations.gov, via the web form accessed 
by following the ``Submit a Formal Comment'' link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions may be submitted to 
[email protected] or to Daniel Clark at (240) 780-6529.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The scientific and engineering demonstration of fusion energy will 
require mastering materials science and performance issues, 
particularly those associated with materials degradation due to 
bombardment by the energetic (14.1 MeV) deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion 
neutrons. This performance degradation provides the basis for and is 
one of the single largest inherent limiting factors for the economic, 
safety, and environmental attractiveness of fusion energy. As such, the 
FES program places a high priority on gaining an improved understanding 
of the science of materials degradation due to fusion neutron 
bombardment, particularly as it pertains to enabling the development of 
next-generation, high-performance materials for future fusion devices.
    Managing this fusion neutron-induced property degradation is one of 
the most significant scientific ``grand challenges'' facing fusion 
energy development. Although considerable progress has been made 
exploring the resistance of fusion materials to neutron-based 
displacement damage with the use of tools available today, such as 
fission test reactors, ion beams, and computer simulation, the current 
knowledge base for bulk mechanical and physical property degradation in 
a realistic fusion environment with simultaneous transmutation effects 
is limited. The requirement to understand 14.1 MeV 
neutron[hyphen]induced material degradation underscores the critical 
need for a Fusion Prototypic Neutron Source (FPNS), which is aimed at 
enabling investigation of the effects of fusion-relevant irradiation on 
both microstructural evolution and bulk material properties 
degradation.
    An FPNS will address the fundamental question of whether materials 
retain adequate properties for damage levels greater than 20-50 
displacements per atom (dpa) in a fusion neutron environment, and 
lifetime limits from an engineering science perspective at higher 
levels of irradiation. This will enable the generation of engineering 
data that is required to design and deploy commercial fusion devices. 
These roles could be addressed in either the same or complementary 
irradiation facilities.
    The 2020 Long-Range Plan (LRP) \1\ ``Powering the Future: Fusion & 
Plasmas'' developed by the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee 
(FESAC), included strong support for an FPNS, which was viewed as not 
only filling a key gap in the science mission of FES but as an 
opportunity to provide world leadership by enabling the fundamental 
explorations of fusion nuclear material science. Among the key 
recommendations of the LRP was to ``Immediately establish the mission 
need for an FPNS facility to support development of new materials 
suitable for use in the fusion nuclear environment and pursue design 
and construction as soon as possible.''
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    \1\ https://science.osti.gov/-/media/fes/fesac/pdf/2020/202012/FESAC_Report_2020_Powering_the_Future.pdf.
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    In addition, the 2021 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, 
and Medicine (NASEM) report, Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid,\2\ 
emphasized the need for materials research and a neutron irradiation 
capability to enable a Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP), including facilities 
to provide a limited-volume prototypic neutron source for testing of

[[Page 18131]]

advanced structural and functional materials and to assess neutron-
degradation limits of Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) 
alloys beyond 5 MW-year m-2.
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    \2\ https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/25991/bringing-fusion-to-the-us-grid.
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    In 2022, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sponsored an 
FPNS workshop \3\ at which a strong consensus was reached in support of 
an FPNS delivered in 2028 or earlier, that would meet the requirements 
provided in Table 1, and that FPNS be designed with sufficient 
capability for future upgrade(s) to deliver increased performance 
capability by 2032, or earlier, also as shown in Table 1. There 
remained a strong consensus that the FPNS neutron spectrum must 
introduce appropriate levels of gaseous and solid transmutant 
impurities into the tested materials, consistent with the fusion 
neutron environment.
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    \3\ https://www.epri.com/research/products/000000003002023917.

 Table 1--FPNS Performance Requirements Desired by 2028 or Earlier, and
                             2032 or Earlier
             [As indicated in columns 2 and 3, respectively]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Capability            Capability
          Parameter            requirement by 2028   requirement by 2032
                                   or earlier            or earlier
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Damage rate.................  5 to 11 dpa/calendar  15 dpa/calendar year
                               year (Fe              (Fe equivalent).
                               equivalent).
Spectrum....................  Gaseous and solid     Gaseous and solid
                               transmutant           transmutant
                               generation rates      generation rates
                               consistent with 14    consistent with 14
                               MeV fusion neutron.   MeV fusion neutron.
Sample volume in high flux    >=50 cm\3\..........  >=300 cm\3\.
 zone.
Temperature range...........  ~300 to 1200 [deg]C.  ~300 to 1200 [deg]C.
Temperature control.........  3 independently       4 independently
                               monitored and         monitored and
                               controlled regions.   controlled regions.
Flux gradient...............  <=20%/cm in the       <=20%/cm in the
                               plane of the sample.  plane of the
                                                     sample.
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    To meet the mission of the Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial 
Fusion Energy,\4\ the design and demonstration of an FPP must occur 
simultaneously with the design and construction of the FPNS. Thus, the 
results from an FPNS may not directly impact the design and 
construction of the first FPP but will be critical to later iterations 
of FPP and eventual licensing of commercial fusion power plants.
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    \4\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/03/15/fact-sheet-developing-a-bold-vision-for-commercial-fusion-energy/.
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Questions for Input

    SC is issuing this Request for Information on potential 
technological approaches to meet the needs listed in Table 1, and on 
potential ways to accelerate the construction and delivery of an FPNS 
including public-private partnerships. Of special interest are 
approaches leading to a facility under a total capital cost of $500M, 
even if meeting this objective would require upfront R&D. Responses 
should include discussions of the following topics (limit all responses 
to five pages):
     Technological approach to meeting the performance 
requirements in Table 1 (provide the parameters listed in Table 1 that 
would be achieved based on projections of your proposed approach);
     Technical maturity and risks of the concept;
     Research and development required (with rough cost/
schedule and go/no-go milestones) to increase the technical readiness 
level and retire risks such that a final design can be completed;
     Estimated capital and operating costs;
     Potential for performing accelerated irradiation studies;
     Similarity or deviation of neutron irradiation spectrum 
relative to prototypic fusion device conditions (be quantitative);
     Temperature and irradiation flux stability/control;
     Ability to perform multiple-effect tests (e.g., 
irradiation in the presence of a flowing coolant or in the presence of 
complex applied stress fields); and
     Potential commercial partners, markets, and opportunities 
for public-private partnerships in funding and constructing FPNS.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on March 20, 
2023, by Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Director, Office of Science, pursuant to 
delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. The document with the 
original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For administrative 
purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the 
Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer 
has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic 
format for publication, as an official document of the Department of 
Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect 
of this document upon publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on March 21, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-06176 Filed 3-24-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P