The Department of Energy – Office of Science program in Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for the Inertial Fusion Energy Science & Technology Accelerated Research (IFE-STAR).
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/11/2023
Size of the Grant: $16,000,000
Grant Duration: 4 years
Details:
The objective of IFE-STAR is to provide an IFE framework that leverages expertise and capabilities across national laboratories, academia, and industry to advance foundational IFE S&T using integrated and self-consistent solutions
- Target physics
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- IFE target designs capable of producing high gains are required for a potential IFE demonstrator or fusion pilot plant (FPP). A Hub may focus on one confinement scheme of interest or address multiple schemes. An example of a PRO of interest: Identify the underlying physics limiting the convergence/areal density required for high gains.
- Driver Technologies
- High-efficiency drivers with the repetition rate required for a potential IFE demonstrator or FPP. Also, of interest are scalability, modularity, survivability, compactness, and cost reduction. Example of PROs of interest: Perform IFE driver system-level architecture conceptual design studies and Reduce the cost of diode pumps in DPSSL technologies.
- Target Manufacturing and Engagement
- Ignition-quality and high-gain targets that can be mass produced at acceptable cost and injected at the required repetition rate in a potential IFE demonstrator or FPP. Examples of PROs of interest: Demonstrate highvolume techniques for spherical capsule or wetted foam capsule fabrication and Demonstrate accurate engagement on-the-fly of IFE targets by a driver beam.
- Experimental Validation
- Conduct experiments to develop/validate high-gain target designs on large-scale facilities.
Additionally, each IFE S&T Hub is expected to demonstrate the following attributes:
- Strong Management Structure
- A management structure appropriate for a multi institutional and multi-disciplinary center is essential. The director of the IFE S&T Hub will be responsible for communications with the DOE Program Manager on behalf of the center. They expect the Principal Investigator from the lead institution to serve as the IFE S&T Center Director. This individual must be identified in the application. A management structure for various activities should be provided including the role of each private sector partner.
- IFE Ecosystem Stewardship
- IFE S&T Hub should discuss their plans to contribute to workforce development including but not limited to internal programs that could be leveraged to develop a diverse IFE workforce, workforce exchange between the public and private sector, annual meeting and networking, and internships for students and postdocs.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $45,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $16,000,000
- Award Floor: $8,000,000
Project Period
DOE anticipates making awards with a project period of (4) years.
Eligibility Criteria
All types of domestic applicants are eligible to apply, except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
