| Abstract Scope |
In 2023, the U.S. Fusion Materials Coordinating Committee (FMCC) began developing a roadmap outlining high priority materials R&D needed to support the burgeoning U.S. fusion industry. Fusion power plant concepts proposed by private companies will subject first wall and structural materials to heat and neutron loads that far exceed those observed in fission power applications. Development of these materials is severely hindered by the lack of representative neutron environments in which to test samples and components. Nevertheless, the private fusion industry is targeting aggressive timelines for fusion power plant development and construction. The U.S. fusion materials research community must make effective use of available resources to understand the behavior of candidate materials in the fusion environment.
In this talk, I will first provide an overview of the U.S. Fusion Materials Community Roadmap, which was made publicly available online in spring 2025. This roadmap is the culmination of several years of dedicated effort by over 100 fusion materials experts representing U.S. companies, national laboratories, and universities.
Next, I will summarize efforts to scope options for a U.S. Fusion Prototypic Neutron Source. I will then discuss the utility of ion irradiation as a substitute for fusion neutron damage, with a focus on the Schmidt Laboratory for Nuclear Materials (LMNT), currently under construction at MIT PSFC in the former Alcator C-Mod cell. LMNT will employ a 10-30 MeV dual-extraction proton cyclotron capable of achieving high damage rates (~dpa/day) and uniform irradiation of macroscopic specimens that are compatible with bulk thermomechanical testing techniques. |