V4F

Project Information

V4F

Grant agreement ID: 101096317

DOI

10.3030/101096317

EC signature date 16 December 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• The European Innovation Council (EIC)

Total cost

€ 2 659 996,25

EU contribution

€ 2 659 996,00

Coordinated by

TAMPEREEN KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR
Finland

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - V4F (V4F)

Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2025-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

V4F aims to show proof-of-principle of a new technology capable of unprecedented control over interactions with specially synthesised targets significantly improve the energy balance of aneutronic fusion reactions.
New concepts and advanced simulations of inertial confinement of aneutronic fusion reactions and particle acceleration will inform pioneering experiments in high-energy matter-interactions. Results could offer the prospect of breakthrough increases in alpha-particle yields from fusion reactions and mitigate the instabilities found in conventional fusion reactions.
This work offers the tantalising possibility of aneutronic fusion as a waste-free nuclear energy source and radical new configurations of particle accelerators, leading to an efficient positron beam acceleration. The results will benefit society with game-changing new approaches to clean, safe energy production and significant downscaling of positron accelerators with dramatic impacts in medicine, industry and fundamental science.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In the first period work has begun on many aspects of the scientific and technical part. New laser fibres have been produced and three different seed lasers have been developed which will be used in the creation of our unique laser technology. Computational models to assist the design of the technology have been established. We have carried out simulations which show that it should be possible to generate the strong magnetic fields with our technology. These magnetic fields are essential for us to have the effect we aim for on the energy balance of aneutronic fusion reactions. We have begun synthesis of our new fuels and carried out chemical characterisation which confirm their suitability for future fusion experiments. We have carried out experiments with existing laser technology which show our fuels are capable of producing a relatively high yield of alpha particles. These results can be used as reference data to compare with the yield that may be generated using our unique laser technology once it is fully developed and ready to use.

In RP2, a suitable active material for a ring-shaped core was produced and twisted fibers with this ring-shaped core were produced and analysed for generation of OAM beams. The geometry of the fibers was guided by advanced computational models. Suitable systems and methods for beam analysis were built and the analysis conducted. Additionally, boranes have been confirmed as highly suitable targets for proton-boron fusion. Experiments with Gaussian beams produced alpha-particle yields in the range of current reported record numbers, demonstrating the potential of boranes. Their absorption with OAM beams was tested. These results support our hypothesis that boranes as an ideal target for anuetronic fusion,

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Our first paper has been published: "Double-clad ytterbium-doped tapered fibre with circular birefringence as a gain medium for structured light" in Optics Letters. This detailed, for the first time, using the spun architecture of the tapered fibre to to prevent polarisation and beam shape distortion during amplification of complex beams. This will have impact generally in the field of optics and will be further used in the V4F project to produce our unique laser technology.
RP2 saw publication of additional articles: “Coherent beam combining of optical vortices” was published in Optics Letters and is the first record of such result. “Interaction of Laguerre-Gaussian laser pulses with borane targets of different hydrogen-boron ratio” was uploaded to arXiv during RP2 and has now been published in Scientific Reports, identifying the optimal proton-boron ratio of targets for fusion experiments with Laguerre-Gaussian beams. Lastly, High Yield of Alpha Particles Generated in Proton-Boron Nuclear Fusion Reactions Induced in Solid Boron Hydride B18H22” was uploaded to arXiv, reporting the record-range alpha-particle yield in our first fusion experiments.

The V4F concept