FORT COLLINS — Colorado State University officials are stepping up their efforts in the global race to create sustainable, long-term fusion energy. This is considered the modern equivalent of the discovery of flight.
The university on Wednesday officially breaks ground on the $150 million ATLAS Center, The Advanced Technology for Laser Applications and Science, in a public-private partnership with Germany’s Marvell Fusion and funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. It was supposed to happen.
CSU officials plan to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for the 71,000-square-foot facility with state and federal officials, including Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Jeri Richmond and Democratic Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse. Ta.
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The Department of Energy has committed $28 million to the project over the next three years.
Richmond explained that it is expected to answer many questions about the science and use of lasers, including advances in fusion energy, a clean energy source.
“This is a very promising energy source for the future,” Richmond said. “We think this is a really important energy priority for this country, but there are a lot of unknowns about how we get to the point where we build a fusion reactor. What kind of experiments will be conducted in 2017 will provide exploratory research that will help in the successful development of fusion energy in the future. ”
With this new facility, CSU officials have partnered with Germany’s Marvell Fusion to double down on efforts to advance clean energy research as well as building scalable fusion energy power plants.
“We think this facility will further strengthen our strengths in both laser research and our ability to contribute to low-carbon energy and renewable energy sources,” said Cassandra Moseley, CSU’s vice president for research. . “In a sense, yes. This is a big new phase in our long-standing strengths and areas of expertise.”
Laser research at CSU is not new. According to Moseley, researchers Jorge Rocca, director of the Advanced Beam Institute, and Carmen Menoni, director of the Advanced Thin Film Institute, are world-renowned. The new lab will be in addition to the existing Advanced Lasers and Extreme Photonics labs.
Colorado State University electrical and computer engineering professor Jorge Rocca poses in front of a vacuum chamber where a laser focuses on a target and produces X-rays on May 29, 2018.
“There’s still a lot of research needed in this area, which is why it’s so important,” Moseley added. “We’re really proud to be an emerging company partner here because it’s an emerging technology that we’re well-positioned to address with a partnership between the federal government, private industry, and the research community. There are so many unanswered questions.”
The facility is expected to open in mid-2026. Once completed, it will be equipped with a combination of upgraded versions of existing ultra-high-power lasers developed at CSU and two new lasers provided by Marvell Fusion, CSU reported.
Construction of the project will be managed by Tetrad Corp., McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. will serve as general contractor and SWBR will lead the design. The facility will contain more than 7,500 cubic yards, including a 5-foot-thick shielding wall around the target bay and a 3-foot-thick slab for vibration isolation below the laser and target bay, according to CSU. Concrete will be used.
Richmond said the Department of Energy is considering creating a demonstration project for sustained fusion over the next 10 years.
“There are companies around the world, and certainly in the United States, that are seriously interested in being one of the companies that creates long-term solutions. But there are different models that people are using. Please keep that in mind,” she said. Pursue it…and it’s not clear which model will be the most successful.
“But what’s really interesting about this project at CSU is that it’s a unique public-private partnership.
“So they’re going to come in and install a laser that CSU scientists can use to study the fusion process,” Richmond said. “Once Marvel is done, they’re going to leave the laser there and build something of their own. It’s great for CSU to have a partnership like this, because as we try to build the next fusion demonstration, Most companies in the market are unable to conduct demonstrations on their own without research from the DOE or universities.”
Moseley said CSU signed a memorandum of understanding with Marvell on Wednesday to work on workforce development.
“Marvel plans to hire most of its employees locally rather than bring them in from Germany,” Moseley said. “It will definitely create jobs here in Colorado and create opportunities for workforce development students.”
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