Recent developments of solid breeder fabrication

Worldwide research and development has been performed on solid breeder materials as a tritium source for future fusion power reactors. These ceramic materials will be used in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) to check their performance and screen their applicability for use in fusion blankets. While all members of the ITER project are engaged in the development of solid breeder blanket concepts, five are actively involved in the fabrication of tritium breeding ceramics for the different test blanket modules to be tested in ITER. All solid breeder concepts proposed for ITER are based on the use of ceramics in the form of pebble beds with pebble diameters of about 1 mm or smaller. Although alternative materials are still under investigation, the main candidates for tritium breeding ceramics are lithium metatitanate and lithium orthosilicate. Recent developments and preparatory work for ITER are presented.