Stainless Steel and the Future of Green Energy
In the previous edition of the BS Stainless blog, we looked at the ongoing Powerlink project, which will see the world's longest undersea cable connecting Australia and Singapore. Solar power generated in Australia will travel along the cable, where it is is set to meet as much as 15% of Singapore's energy needs in a sustainable way. Stainless steel is a key material being used to facilitate this mammoth project.
In this article, we share news of another project that hopes to bring the dream of creating energy from nuclear fusion a big step closer. Once again, this experimental project involves extensive use of stainless steel.
Our journey takes us to Provence in France, where a brand-new, state-of-the-art reactor is being constructed. The location was chosen carefully based on the suitability of its seismic, hydrological and geological conditions, as well as the fact that it offers access to plenty of water. Measuring 180 hectares, the facility is home to the new International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
Producing power involves heating water to boiling point, with the steam then being used to spin turbines which turn the rotational energy into electricity. The heat source generally comes from nuclear fission or by burning fossil fuels. Both of these methods impact the environment; nuclear fission produces radioactive waste while the combustion of fossil fuels results in damaging emissions.
Nuclear fusion is different. The process happens naturally in our own sun; a pair of hydrogen atoms are forced together to produce a single atom of helium. Massive amounts of energy are produced as a result but there are no radioactive waste products as with nuclear fission.
There are many challenges associated with nuclear fusion, the biggest of these being the need to control the reactions with the utmost precision. The new reactor will be the largest vacuum chamber of this type to ever be built, boasting a volume of a massive 1,400 m³.
The hermetically-sealed vacuum chamber, along with a series of superconducting magnets, is contained within a cryostat made from stainless steel. As temperature differences will be extreme during the fusion process and cooling, stainless steel was the perfect choice of material as it maintains its performance in both ultra-hot and ultra-cold applications. The exceptional strength and ductility of the alloy were also deciding factors.
If nuclear fusion ever becomes a viable reality then we will, as with so many other technological developments, once again have stainless steel to thank. Find out more about this miracle metal on our website.