The Barcelona Fusion Center (bFUS) program is aimed to create and develop research and industrial capabilities and facilities of excellence in the field of Fusion Energy in Catalonia.

The bFUS has been promoted by the Spanish Government (CIEMAT), the “Generalitat de Catalunya” (ICAEN) and the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC).

The development plan of the bFUS program, to be implemented within the IREC activities, has the following objectives:
 

• Promote the access of the R+D centers and industry to the European Fusion Program,
• Develop strategic capabilities for ITER (*) operation and create and develop groups and facilities of excellence in the field of Fusion energy.

Fusion Energy Program

The ITER project is the construction of an experimental fusion reactor in Cadarache (South of France) - the world’s largest scientific partnership which aims to demonstrate the scientific feasibility of Fusion, while developing associated technologies that, at long term, will allow Fusion to become one of the future energy sources.

The partner countries of this project, the European Union, China, India, Japan, Korea, the Russian Federation and the USA, will contribute with 10.000 M€ in the next 20 years.

The headquarters of the European Fusion Agency for ITER, “Fusion for Energy” (F4E), are based in Barcelona.

F4E is the European Agency for the construction of the experimental thermonuclear international reactor (ITER) and for the development of Fusion Energy.

F4E will collaborate with industry and research centers of all Europe in order to promote the research, development and construction of ITER in Caradache (France). The agency also supports fusion research and development initiatives through the Broader Approach Agreement, signed with Japan. This agreement aims to complement the ITER project and to accelerate the realization of Fusion energy by carrying out R+D and developing some advanced technologies for future demonstration power reactors (DEMO).

 

The opportunity

There is an opportunity and willingness to provide a boost, from Catalunya, to the R+D activities in the field of Fusion.IREC, as a technological and research center in the energy field has recently launched the Barcelona Fusion Center program, bFUS, as a new technological program which will become in the future a research area of IREC.

IREC being placed at the Campus Diagonal-Besòs, will allow to create a specialized cluster of companies working in Fusion technologies, which will closely work with “Fusion for Energy”, with the UPC, and with EIT InnoEnergy consortium and the other relevant projects and institutes in the field of energy.

The strategic working lines of bFUS are:

• Promote the access of the R+D centers and Industry in the high tech field to the research and industrial activities related to the Fusion Program, using the synergies and advantages of having “Fusion for Energy” in Barcelona, and in particular with the ITER construction and technological developments for DEMO
• Develop strategic capabilities for ITER operation, by training of experts in Fusion, and preparing a generation of scientific and technological staff who will significantly contribute in the operation phase of ITER.
• Create and Develop groups and facilities of excellence by means of a scientific program focusing in relevant and critical progresses towards the industrialization of Fusion Energy and becoming a reference in Europe and World Wide.

The front-End program will create a group of experts in the specific ITER technologies in order to become the access gate to industry, Technological and R+D centers with high technological capabilities but not aware of the ITER project and requirements.

This activity will focus in three main areas:

1. Promote and support the access of Industry and Groups to ITER and F4E tendering processes by creating and managing and Industrial Portal.
2. Promote and develop consortiums between Industry and R+D and Technological Centers to satisfy the specific F4E and ITER requirements.
3. Based on the proximity, flexibility and capabilities of bFUS, establish a trustful professional relationship with F4E and ITER.

The presence of F4E in Barcelona the development of the ITER project in Cadarache is an opportunity for the Catalan academic and scientific community to develop highly qualified staff who could undertake relevant responsibilities in the ITER operation and development of Fusion Plants in the future.

The objective of the program is to establish a group of excellence in Fusion physics and technology. This activity will work in three directions:

1. Creation of specific training programs with the Catalan universities in the specific fields of Nuclear Fusion.
2. Promote the access of Catalan university students to the Fusion R+D activities and programs, in particular F4E.
3. Promote and develop the communication and exchange between the technical and scientific highly qualified staff of F4E and ITER with the academic and scientific community of the Catalan universities

bFUS Scientific Program

The bFUS scientific program is presently being defined, provided that future financing is allocated, within the frame of the European and Spanish Fusion Programs with particular attention to coordinate and reinforce the possible synergies with existing R+D centers and industry in order to focus in technologies and key components for the commercial feasibility of a nuclear fusion reactor.

The main potential working areas are:

Fusion Plants Technologies: integral design of Fusion reactors and plants, socio-technical studies, security and RAM analysis.

Development of specific Facilities; superconductivity laboratory, advanced components for helium refrigeration, hydrogen isotopes processing,

Development of Breeding Blankets: contribution to the European TBM programConceptual and detailed design, production of functional materials for TBM, liquid metals laboratory, robotics, fabrication procedures (assembly, welding)