In this episode, TAE Director of Computational Science Sean Dettrick explores the groundbreaking role of simulation in advancing commercial fusion. Since joining TAE in 2002, Dettrick has led efforts to build a "digital twin" of fusion reactors—high-fidelity simulations that mirror the physical machines under development, allowing researchers to predict and optimize reactor behavior without physically constructing every variation.

These simulations are not just digital prototypes—they’re essential tools for understanding the intricate physics of plasma behavior, validating experimental data, and informing future designs.

TAE’s sixth-generation fusion machine, Copernicus, is still in development but Dettrick and his team have already seen it "operate" in the virtual world. Through simulations, they analyze how plasma reacts under various conditions, tweak system parameters, and test designs far faster and more flexibly than physical experiments allow.

As computational power has grown from teraflops to petaflops and now to the exascale frontier, so too has the capacity to simulate the six-dimensional complexity of plasma physics. Dettrick emphasizes that reaching commercial fusion will require continued advances in both computing and collaboration between theoretical and experimental scientists.

Looking ahead, Dettrick believes simulations will be crucial not only in building the first fusion power plants but in optimizing them for mass production—ensuring they’re not just functional, but also manufacturable.

Covered in this episode:

• TAE has created high-fidelity digital twins of its fusion reactors.
• These simulations allow testing and optimization without building physical prototypes.
• Models are calibrated with real-world data to predict future reactor behavior.
• The iterative process involves designing a system, testing it in simulation, and then refining it before physical construction.
• Digital models can test design changes that would be physically impossible or too costly to implement in real experiments and provide quick feedback on potential improvements.
• TAE’s sixth-generation machine is already running in virtual form. Simulations have modeled target plasma conditions, including temperatures exceeding 100 million °C.
• Fusion plasma must be modeled in six dimensions (3 spatial + 3 velocity), making it computationally intensive.
• Current simulations operate at petascale computing; exascale computing will be needed to fully understand energy losses.
• There's a healthy tension between simulation and physical testing—each validates and informs the other. Real-world results continue to refine and improve digital models.
• Even after a successful reactor is built, simulations will play a key role in optimizing performance and cost-efficiency for future generations.

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Good Clean Energy is a podcast that tackles one of the most existential questions of our time: how to build a world with abundant, affordable, carbon-free electricity. This season we’re going to unpack what TAE is working on to make fusion energy a reality.

In this episode, TAE Director of Diagnostics Thomas Roche discusses his groundbreaking paper that showcases a significant advancement in fusion energy research. The conversation delves into an experiment that drastically simplified TAE’s fusion research machine, leading to a first in the field. Roche explains how neutral beam injection replaced complex formation sections, reducing costs and complexity while improving performance. These developments mark a significant step towards creating efficient and economical fusion power plants in the future.

Covered in this episode:

• Understanding TAE’s fusion approach
• Innovative experiments and surprising results
• Implications for TAE’s future fusion machines
• Reducing cost and complexity

Learn more: TAE Delivers Fusion Breakthrough that Dramatically Reduces Cost of a Future Power Plant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Good Clean Energy is a podcast that tackles one of the most existential questions of our time: how to build a world with abundant, affordable, carbon-free electricity. This season we’re going to unpack what TAE is working on to make fusion energy a reality.

In this episode, TAE CEO Michl Binderbauer dives deep into a specific fusion machine design called the Field-Reversed Configuration that TAE has pursued since the company's inception. He explains how the FRC works, its unique advantages, and how it differs from other magnetic-confinement approaches by allowing the plasma to generate its own magnetic field, reducing the need for expensive and cumbersome external magnets. Binderbauer details the difficulties of working with FRCs and describes the breakthroughs TAE has made in simplifying and stabilizing the process, paving the way for more practical and economically viable fusion power plants.

Covered in this episode:

• Understanding the FRC
• Challenges and solutions in FRCs
• TAE’s innovations to improve FRCs

Learn more: TAE Delivers Fusion Breakthrough that Dramatically Reduces Cost of a Future Power Plant

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.