KSTAR: S. Korea to build nuclear fusion reactor producing electric power by 2050

K-태양 올해 '마의 구간' 넘는다 2050년 핵융합 전기 생산!

Scientists have confirmed that nuclear fusion is safe and eco-friendly, without the risk of explosion or radioactive waste.
And South Korea is gearing up to build a reactor that could commercialize nuclear fusion energy by 2035.
Lee Eun-jin has the story.

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research or KSTAR aims to make nuclear fusion power a reality.
It uses magnetic fields to generate and stabilize ultra-hot plasma.
Its success in maintaining the high-temperature plasma for more than 20 seconds was announced back in 2020, but the feat wasn't officially published until September 2022 after being peer-reviewed.
During that time, the KSTAR team broke their own record, managing in 2021 to maintain plasma for 30 seconds at 100 million degrees Celsius.
That's 7 times the temperature of the sun, hence its nickname "the artificial sun".

This year, the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy now aims to maintain 100 million degrees Celsius for more than 50 seconds, with the ultimate goal of reaching 300 seconds by 2026.
"If we can reach 50 seconds this year, the technology will only improve from there. We are expecting to go through big changes this year."

International competition to create fusion power for the future of clean and limitless energy is intensifying, but at the same time, the countries are also collaborating through ITER -the world's largest fusion experiment to build and operate the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.
South Korea joined the 35-nation ITER consortium in late 2006, which also includes the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan and India.
Meanwhile, South Korea has announced that it has begun preparations to build a nuclear fusion reactor before 2035, which is when ITER is expected to begin operations. After testing its capacity for producing electric power, the government aims to complete the reactor plant by 2040.
South Korea's first fusion reactor will have a capacity of 500 megawatts.

"The remaining time is to secure the technology. If the reactor is constructed as planned, it will begin operations around 2050."

Nuclear fusion energy is the future of clean energy, as it doesn't emit carbon dioxide, nor does it produce long-lasting nuclear waste, and its main fuel is abundant and accessible as it can be easily extracted from seawater.
With this technology to change the paradigm of global energy, South Korea hopes to lead the commercialization of fusion energy.
Lee Eunjin, Arirang News.

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2023-04-12, 12:00 (KST)