General Atomics

Senators tour fusion facility and learn about GA’s advanced nuclear technologies

San Diego, Sept. 12 – A delegation composed of members of the French Senate and representatives from the French Consulate in Los Angeles recently toured the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, which is operated by General Atomics (GA) for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

During the Sept. 6 visit, which was arranged and hosted by Dr. Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of the General Atomics Global Corporation, the delegation observed a fusion experiment and learned about GA’s initiatives in fusion and advanced nuclear energy. GA is heavily involved in the ITER project, currently being carried out in France. ITER is an international collaboration of 35 nations that will prove the feasibility of fusion as a means of producing virtually limitless clean, safe, and sustainable energy.

“General Atomics has had a longstanding strong strategic partnership with France in the energy and defense sectors including unmanned aircraft,” said Dr. Lall. “We look forward to continue growing the depth and breadth of our relationship in the various domains furthering our mutual national security interests.”

“France is thrilled to be working with such a pioneering company in the energy sector. We are looking forward to seeing the development of fusion energy and we commend GA for its key contribution to the ITER project.” said Sophie Primas, President of the Economic Affairs Committee of the French Senate.

“It was a great pleasure to welcome the Senators to the DIII-D Facility hosted here at General Atomics,” said Dr. Wayne Solomon, Vice President of Magnetic Fusion Energy. “We enjoyed discussing our plans to bring fusion power to the electrical grid through our efforts in developing a fusion pilot plant.”

DIII-D is the largest magnetic fusion research user facility in the United States. The heart of the facility is a tokamak that uses powerful electromagnets to produce a toroidal (doughnut-shaped) magnetic bottle for confining a fusion plasma. GA has been a leader in fusion research since the 1950s.

The delegation also learned about GA’s activities in developing advanced nuclear technologies and materials, both for nuclear energy and emerging applications for nuclear space propulsion. GA-Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) is developing advanced materials for the DOE’s Accident Tolerant Fuel program, advanced reactors, and additional high temperature/harsh environment applications.

“We were very pleased to have an opportunity to discuss how GA’s advanced nuclear power technologies and materials, including our 50 MWe Fast Modular Reactor, and our close collaboration with Framatome, are working to secure the future of safe, distributed clean power generation by the mid-2030s,” said Dr. Ron Faibish, Senior Director of Business Development with GA-EMS.

About General Atomics: Since the dawn of the atomic age, General Atomics innovations have advanced the state of the art across the full spectrum of science and technology – from nuclear energy and defense to medicine and high-performance computing. Behind a talented global team of scientists, engineers, and professionals, GA’s unique experience and capabilities continue to deliver safe, sustainable, economical, and innovative solutions to meet growing global demands.

About the DIII-D National Fusion Facility. DIII-D is the largest magnetic fusion research facility in the U.S. and has been the site of numerous pioneering contributions to the development of fusion energy science. DIII-D continues the drive toward practical fusion energy with critical research conducted in collaboration with more than 600 scientists representing over 100 institutions worldwide. As a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility, participation in DIII-D research is open to all interested parties. For more information, visit www.ga.com/diii-d.

For more information contact: Evan Polisar, Strategic Communications Manager – 858-455-3474 – Evan.Polisar@ga.com