Prelims: Current events of national and international importance| Science and Technology
Why in News?
Recently the Bengaluru-based startup Pranos Fusion is developing India's first privately built tokamak, with the blueprint expected to be finalised by 2027.
- Aim – To advance indigenous nuclear fusion technology and develop future fusion-based energy systems.
About Pranos Fusion
- PRAGYA – A compact, doughnut-shaped tokamak developed to test plasma control and superconducting magnets.
- PRANIK – A larger proposed tokamak designed to achieve the extreme temperatures required for nuclear fusion.
- JENGA – Simulation, design and control software functioning as a digital twin of the reactor.
- MAGGA – High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet development programme.
- The startup is incubated at the Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) and JNCASR, Bengaluru.
Nuclear Fusion
- Nuclear fusion – It involves combining two light atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus, releasing enormous energy.
- It generally uses two hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium, to produce helium and a fast neutron.
- Fuel must be heated to approximately 100 million°C to form superheated plasma and initiate fusion.
Tokamak Technology
- A tokamak is a doughnut-shaped fusion device that uses powerful magnetic fields to confine extremely hot plasma.
- Magnetic confinement prevents plasma from contacting reactor walls and helps sustain fusion conditions.
India's Nuclear Fusion Initiatives
- ADITYA – India's indigenous tokamak experiment developed by the Institute for Plasma Research.
- SST-1 – Steady State Tokamak, developed to study sustained plasma confinement.
India participates in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in France, alongside 6 other international partners.
Global Developments
- ITER – International collaboration aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of fusion energy.
ITER is, the largest tokamak under construction, a collaboration between China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the U.S.
- JET – Britain's tokamak produced a record 69 megajoules of fusion energy in 2023.
- National Ignition Facility (USA) – Achieved fusion ignition in December 2022 using laser-based inertial confinement.
Reference
The Hindu| India’s first fusion power company takes key steps
