SAN DIEGO — General Atomics (GA) recently announced a $20 million California Competes Tax Credit. The award will support the company’s proposal to design and develop a Blanket Component Test Facility (BCTF) in San Diego.
The proposed state-of-the-art facility would be dedicated to testing full-scale fusion blanket components, an essential system that lines the inside of a fusion vessel, captures energy and produces tritium, a fuel needed to sustain fusion reactions.
The work would address a major scientific and engineering challenge on the path to the world's first commercial fusion power plant.
The BCTF would serve as a focal point for scientists and engineers from the public and private sectors to validate blanket designs and develop other critical technologies.
The California Competes Tax Credit is a statewide income tax credit designed to help businesses grow in California and create quality, full-time jobs.
General Atomics first announced earlier this month that it is currently pursuing concept designs for a BCTF in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy. The initiative is part of a public-private partnership that includes Idaho National Laboratory, UC San Diego and other key collaborators across industry and academia.
Fusion is the same process that powers the sun. Instead of splitting atoms, as traditional nuclear power does, fusion combines light atomic nuclei to release large amounts of clean energy without long-lived radioactive waste.
Researchers believe fusion could provide virtually limitless, carbon-free electricity to help meet growing global energy demand.
General Atomics helped pioneer fusion research in the U.S., establishing its program in 1957. The company also operates the DIII-D National Fusion Facility on behalf of DOE. Located in San Diego, DIII-D is the nation’s largest magnetic fusion user facility and testbed.
