My View: Arizona universities explore fusion energy as utilities brace for record power demand

Hot enough for you?

Fortunately, that age-old opening line has become a relic of the past, thanks to Arizona’s utilities.

Recent proof came Aug. 2 when APS recorded a new peak demand of 9,164 megawatts — enough to power more than 1.4 million homes — yet no widespread panic erupted as the grid kept air conditioners humming.

But new records are sure to be set in the years ahead with expectations of even more power needed to not only keep an increasing population cool in the summer but also to ensure the lights remain on at semiconductor fabs, data centers and other technology facilities.

To prepare for carrying the extra load, work is being done here now to explore new energy options such as fusion, the process of joining very light atomic nuclei — typically forms of hydrogen — to create a heavier nucleus and release a tremendous amount of energy in the process. The same basic reaction powers the sun and stars.

Unlike conventional nuclear fission that produces energy by splitting heavy atoms, fusion produces energy by combining light ones. If it can be harnessed successfully at commercial scale on Earth, the heat generated by fusion could be used to produce electricity, offering the potential for an abundant, reliable source of carbon-free energy.

But there is much to do to get there, especially to take fusion from the lab to the commercial level needed for powering communities. That’s a key reason the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) two months ago released the finalized Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap, a national strategy to speed the development and commercialization of fusion energy. The department even has established an Office of Fusion Energy to advance and commercialize fusion energy.

U of A plays important role in research

When it comes to research, Arizona’s universities already are playing roles. Leadership at the University of Arizona earmarked fusion energy as one of its top research priorities while the Arizona Board of Regents approved funding from the state’s Technology and Research Initiative Fund to back the effort.

Critical to the effort was recruitment of materials scientist Horst Hahn, a foreign member of the National Academy of Engineering who serves as the U of A’s strategic architect for fusion initiatives. To position the university and Southern Arizona as a fusion engineering, commercialization and workforce hub, Hahn is working with Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, senior vice president for Research and Partnerships and a member of the Arizona Technology Council’s board of directors.

Goals for U of A include developing experiential learning, professional training programs and certificate pathways to prepare the next generation of fusion experts. Turning breakthrough research into meaningful solutions with market-entry potential can become possible with support from the university’s Tech Launch Arizona, The University of Arizona Center for Innovation and Tech Parks Arizona.

In addition, the university last year joined the national Inertial Fusion Energy STARFIRE Hub, a public and private partnership to advance the engineering and manufacturing technologies required for achieving the benefits of fusion. The DOE-supported initiative is led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, home of the National Ignition Facility credited with achieving the breakthrough fusion ignition/net-energy-gain experiment.

U of A researchers are working on challenges ranging from the reliability of the laser diodes needed to power inertial fusion systems to advanced materials capable of surviving extreme fusion environments, as well as high-intensity laser and plasma science.

Longer term, the university envisions creating a research, development, test and evaluation center of excellence in Southern Arizona to integrate technologies from across the laser-fusion supply chain. The ultimate goal is to solve some of the critical engineering, manufacturing and workforce barriers that industry faces in building commercial plants.

In the meantime, the university also is capitalizing on existing Arizona strengths rather than starting from scratch. For example, U of A and Tech Council member Leonardo Electronics are exploring whether to jointly create a diode-pumped laser research and training facility since the Tucson company possesses expertise in designing and manufacturing high-power laser diode modules.

Another Old Pueblo company in the fusion exploration arena is Xcimer Energy, a producer of specialized high-performance energy-storage capacitors and other components for its high-energy laser systems. With headquarters in Denver, the company set up Tucson operations because of the region’s existing capacitor expertise, technical workforce and supply chain.

ASU, NAU students make key discoveries

Arizona State University also is contributing to the quest of supporting potential fusion solutions with work focused on enabling technologies, particularly fusion materials, tritium breeding, plasma/control science and modeling. Students are pursuing studies in advanced materials, engineering, energy systems and other related fields.

At the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, a group headed by professor Xin Xu is working on advanced ceramic materials and ion transport under extreme conditions, including materials relevant to fusion reactors. In particular, researchers are investigating using porous lithium lanthanum zirconium oxide (LLZO) as a tritium-breeding material since the reactor in a future plant would need to manufacture its own tritium fuel.

At this year’s Fulton Forge Student Research Expo, one of the featured projects was from engineering student Lia Ryan, who has worked with Xu. She offered a solution to replace the toxic waste in producing nuclear fission reactors with nuclear fusion reactors using LLZO that produce very little waste and create more energy with less input material.

Northern Arizona University is contributing to the broader energy and policy side of the fusion conversation. Last year NAU became an R1 research university in recognition of its research portfolio that includes energy, materials, engineering, computing, environmental science and other disciplines that can contribute to future energy systems.

Putting research into practice, NAU’s Lee Lab at NAU is working with Sandia National Laboratory to improve its Z-pulsed power machine, more commonly known as the Z-machine. Considered the world’s most powerful pulsed-power facility, the Z-machine’s energy is funneled into a small volume where magnetic fields compress it further to generate intense pressure and temperature that can be used to simulate extreme environments like the surface of the sun.

To better understand these processes, NAU plans to build a new mass spectrometer that can capture and analyze atoms or molecules. With this information, pulsed-power components can be redesigned or developed, or new materials can be used that will take pulsed-power research to the next level. One of Sandia’s long-term objectives for this technology is magnetically driven fusion.

And what about the major utilities APS, SRP and Tucson Electric Power? All are preparing for a future in which Arizona likely will need more large-scale, reliable, carbon-free generation.

While none of the three are saying that certainly means “fusion,” they are looking for sites for generation, including former coal-generation operations. And what do those coal sites already offer? Infrastructure such as high-voltage transmission lines, substations, switchyards and the like — all necessary for power plants no matter the energy source.

With this combined effort to create a pathway toward commercial fusion, Arizona is preparing to be on fire when it comes to offering one more facet for the clean energy market.

Steven Zylstra is president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.