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City council in Penzberg: Trio of experts recommends “Yes” to “Marvel Fusion” - “I don't see a horse”

2020-12-18T11:08:10.862Z


Three experts for plasma physics, laser technology and radiation protection gave their assessment of "Marvel Fusion" on Wednesday evening in the Penzberg city council. All three were on the whole positive - up to and including the recommendation to sell the municipal property to the company. For a moment it looked like the city council would make a decision immediately.


Three experts for plasma physics, laser technology and radiation protection gave their assessment of "Marvel Fusion" on Wednesday evening in the Penzberg city council.

All three were on the whole positive - up to and including the recommendation to sell the municipal property to the company.

For a moment it looked like the city council would make a decision immediately.

Penzberg - For months the Penzberg town hall and city council have been considering whether to sell an urban plot of land in the Nonnenwald industrial area to the company “Marvel Fusion”.

Discussions only took place behind closed doors, and since October this has also been happening in public.

“Marvel Fusion” wants to develop a fusion power plant in Nonnenwald that produces CO2-free energy - in order to market the technology if it is successful.

A majority in the city council is likely to be inclined to sell the property.

There and in the population there are also concerns - for example, regarding the seriousness, the radiation exposure, the chances of success and the consequences for the Penzberg infrastructure.

Marvel Fusion: City council hopes to get decision support from three experts

As a decision-making aid, the city had now invited three experts to the city council meeting for Wednesday evening: Hartmut Zohm from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Reinhard Kienberger from the Chair for Lasers and X-ray Physics at the Technical University of Munich (both professors were connected via video) and Ursula Kastl , who was formerly radiation protection officer at Roche in Penzberg and belongs to the professional association for radiation protection.

The “Penzberg together” faction had put together questions from the population.

There were also questions from the Greens and the FLP.

In the end, Wolfgang Sacher (BfP) summed up the mood.

According to the experts' responses, “we don't have to worry,” he said.

His final question: “What decision would you make if you were on the city council?

What advice do you give us? ”Plasma physicist Zohm replied that the scientists were serious, that there was a good team, that money was available and that the risk was with the company.

“In this respect: I don't see a horse's foot.” The answer from laser technology expert Kienberger was similar.

"I would vote yes, the risk for Penzberg is very low." However, both of them limited, they could not make any statements about the consequences for the local infrastructure.

Radiation protection expert Kastl said of a "Marvel Fusion" settlement: Penzberg "could become famous."

Marvel Fusion: For a brief moment, it looked like a decision would be made in the meeting

For a short time, after Question Time and a break of several minutes, it looked like the city council could make a decision that same evening.

This was briefly discussed, confirmed Mayor Stefan Korpan (CSU).

“We heard all the information and gathered a lot of information.” Nevertheless, Korpan, who himself is one of the proponents, recommended that the decision, as planned, not be made until January.

"Then everyone can think again about the holidays." He announced to invite to a special session on "Marvel Fusion".

The question-and-answer game had lasted about an hour earlier.

In terms of funding, the experts stated that the aforementioned range of 200 to 300 million for the first stage, ie for the demonstration facility that is supposed to demonstrate the “laser-induced inertial fusion concept”, is realistic.

According to them, this also applies to the number of employees mentioned and the desired property size.

Marvel Fusion: Asking About the Tritium

According to Kienbaum, it is quite feasible to build the necessary high-performance laser.

According to the experts, the actual merger is more difficult.

The use of tritium is - if you take the "very small amount" stated by "Marvel Fusion" - an intermediate step "to show that you can manage it".

According to Zohm's estimate, this preliminary stage could be successful by 2030, even if it was very sporty.

However, he does not believe that the switch from tritium to the use of boron (“a quantum leap”), which “Marvel Fusion” actually wants to use in the fusion power plant, will succeed during this period.

The professors did not want to give an estimate of the percentage of success.

The question of tritium is interesting because the element is radioactive.

The scope "requires radiation protection that is feasible," said Kastl.

Tritium is a naturally occurring element.

"If you are afraid of it, you have to stop panting." She explained that the authorities check very carefully whether the limit values ​​are being observed.

When asked whether there could be a disaster, she said that a fusion device could not explode.

If there is a mistake, according to Zohm, the merger expires.

Marvel Fusion: Why to Penzberg of all places?

Kienberger was able to understand that “Marvel Fusion” cited “vibration-free floors” as the reason for the interest in Penzberg.

This is important because you save a lot of concrete during construction.

Zohm explained that the company does not receive any public funding by saying that years ago there was a fundamental decision in Germany to promote magnetic fusion and not laser-based fusion.

Kienbaum estimated the possible electricity requirement for the first stage, the demonstration plant, to be “less than one megawatt” - which would be around a fifth of the output of the hydroelectric power plant in Schönmühl.

According to Kienbaum, the later prototype would have significantly more.

But this should also deliver electricity, as he added.

When asked why the company wanted to go to Penzberg and not to Garching, Kienbaum said that the proximity to lakes, the Alps and Munich should not be underestimated when recruiting scientists.

In addition, Garching is full and the prices are steep.

Such a company, he pointed out, did not want to join a scientific association.

“The wish is understandable for me.

If someone had asked me, I would have gone to Penzberg 15 years ago. “What if it all doesn't work?

"Then Marvel Fusion sits on a high-performance laser," says Kienbaum.

Scientists would stand in line to be allowed to research in such facilities.

According to him, one business model could then be to offer laser time.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-12-18

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