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Toward Completion of the Final Report
Having completed its assessment of the status and importance of U.S. burning plasma research, the committee is now carrying out the detailed analyses of the many elements required to guide the nation’s long-term strategic plan for fusion energy development. These analyses will be informed by input from the second community workshop on strategic directions for U.S. magnetic fusion research to be held at the University of Texas, Austin, December 11-15, 2017, and by several site visits. Additionally, a subcommittee of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) to the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science is expected to complete its report shortly identifying “the most promising transformative enabling capabilities for the United States to pursue that could promote efficient advance toward fusion energy.” This new FESAC report will also inform U.S. strategies to improve the fusion power system. The committee anticipates that its final report will present strategies that incorporate continued progress toward a burning plasma experiment, include a major focus on innovation, include provisions for regular review in order to accommodate scientific and technological breakthroughs, and be built upon recent advances in burning plasma science, fusion nuclear science, and the international effort. To the extent possible, the final report will include considerations of the health of fusion research sectors within the United States, the role of international collaboration in the pursuit of national fusion energy goals, the capability and prospects of private-sector ventures to advance fusion energy concepts and technologies, the impact of science and technology innovations, and the design of research strategies that may shorten the time and reduce the cost required to develop commercial fusion energy.
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