The UK Inertial Fusion Energy Network

英国通过好奇心驱动的学术研究和培训、在国家实验室举办的科学和技术活动以及通过与主要国际合作伙伴的许多合作，在惯性约束聚变(ICF)的发展中发挥了非常重要的作用。美国国家点火设施(NIF)聚变点火的前景促使人们讨论英国如何利用其(通常是世界领先的)聚变科学和技术专业知识来开发惯性聚变能源(IFE)计划。IFE方案的长期目标将是在热核聚变的基础上创造一种技术上和商业上可行的无碳能源，这可能是一项要求很高的任务，需要多国共同努力。在磁约束聚变(MCF)社区，这样的计划已经在英国存在，并有明确的领导力、长期目标、科学和技术子计划、资金流以及与国际合作伙伴和行业的联系。目前在英国没有类似的IFE活动，该网络的一个关键目标将是为IFE研究和开发制定更具计划性的方法，并突出英国最适合在哪些方面产生重大国际影响。我们的建议是将英国所有对惯性聚变和支持技术感兴趣的科学和工业界成员聚集在一系列协调良好的网络活动中，包括有重点的技术和科学研讨会和大型社区会议。我们将突出英国学术界、国家实验室和工业界最适合发挥世界领先作用的地方。我们将就IFE在英国的短期、中期和长期目标和潜在领导力进行全面和公开的讨论，我们将根据未来的资助方案和科学驱动因素(例如，聚变点火演示)为IFE制定一系列战略。我们将参与社区建设和外联活动，以确定跨学科合作的机会(例如，与MCF、第四代裂变和材料研究)，并与业界接触，强调他们也可以受益的领域，例如通过与国家实验室合作，获得尖端技术并帮助将其商业化。

The UK has played a very significant role in the development of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) via a combination of curiosity driven academic research and training, scientific and technical activities hosted in national laboratories and through many collaborations with major international partners. The prospect for fusion ignition at the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) has prompted the need to discuss how the UK could capitalise on its (often world leading) expertise in fusion science and technology to develop an Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) programme. The long term goal of an IFE programme would be to create a technically and commercially viable source of carbon free energy based on thermonuclear fusion, and this is likely to be a demanding undertaking requiring a multi-national effort. In the Magnetic Confinement Fusion (MCF) community such a programme already exists in the UK and has well defined leadership, long term goals, scientific and technical sub-programmes, funding streams and links to international partners and industry. There is currently no equivalent IFE activity in the UK and a key aim of this network will be to develop proposals for a more programmatic approach to IFE research and development, and highlight where the UK is best placed to have major international impact.Our proposal is to bring together all members of the UK's scientific and industrial communities with an interest in inertial fusion and supporting technologies in a series of well coordinated network activities including focused technical and scientific workshops and large scale community meetings. We will highlight where UK academics, national laboratories and industry are best placed to play world leading roles. A full and open discussion of the short, intermediate and long term goals and potential leadership of IFE activities in the UK will be held, and we will develop a series of strategies for IFE based on future funding scenarios and scientific drivers (e.g. a demonstration of fusion ignition). We will engage in community building and outreach activities that identify opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaboration (for example with MCF, Generation IV fission and materials research) and reach out to industry to highlight where they too can benefit, for example by partnering with national laboratories to gain access to and help commercialise cutting edge technologies.