FUSE: an open-source framework for tokamak power plant design and operations
The FUsion Synthesis Engine (FUSE) is a cutting-edge open-source framework, developed in Julia, designed to revolutionize tokamak power plant design and operations. FUSE integrates first-principle models, machine learning, and reduced-order modeling to deliver a comprehensive suite of tools for physics simulation, engineering analysis, control systems, costing, and risk assessment. Initially created for integrated fusion power plant (FPP) design, FUSE has evolved to simulate the dynamic time evolution of both plasma and plant systems. This includes feedforward and feedback control simulations with integrated controllers. By leveraging a robust genetic algorithm, FUSE identifies optimized machine designs that balance performance, cost, and risk, all while satisfying rigorous physics, engineering constraints, and stakeholder requirements. Applications such as comparative studies on positive and negative triangularity FPP designs and pulse trajectory optimization for maximizing ITER’s fusion burn demonstrate the framework’s versatility. Current developments include integrating FUSE with the DIII-D control system simulation environment, enabling operators to test control strategies, predict outcomes, and fine-tune parameters in a virtual, risk-free setting. FUSE highlights the transformative potential of digital twins in fusion energy, empowering researchers, operators, and decision-makers with innovative tools to accelerate commercialization. Explore FUSE’s source code and documentation at https://fuse.help, and join us in driving the future of fusion energy through open-source collaboration.