Overview of the Lockheed Martin Compact Fusion Reactor (CFR) Project

Author: Thomas McGuire, Principal Investigator of the Compact Fusion Reactor Project and LM Fellow, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

Background: The Lockheed Martin Compact Fusion Reactor (CFR) Program endeavors to quickly develop a compact fusion power plant with favorable commercial economics and military utility.

Objectives: The goal of the experiments is to demonstrate a suitable plasma target for heating experiments, to characterize the behavior of plasma sources in the CFR configuration and to then heat the plasma with neutral beams, with the plasma transitioning into the high Beta confinement regime.

Methods: The CFR uses a diamagnetic, high beta, magnetically encapsulated, linear ring cusp plasma confinement scheme.

Results: Major project activities will be reviewed, including the T4B and T5 plasma heating experiments. The design and preliminary results of the experiments will be presented, including discussion of predicted behavior, plasma sources, heating mechanisms, diagnostics suite and relevant numerical modeling.