The Roadmap to Fusion Energy for the Centrifugal Mirror

The centrifugal mirror is a linear magnetic confinement concept with a promising path towards commercial fusion energy because of its stability, engineering simplicity, and expected affordability with respect to other fusion concepts. A radial electric field is applied in a mirror configuration, generating azimuthal rotation that in turn creates velocity shear that stabilizes the plasma and provides viscous heating. The Centrifugal Mirror Fusion Experiment, CMFX, at the University of Maryland, includes superconducting coils and aims to demonstrate steady supersonic plasma rotation with T_e = T_i = 0.5 keV and densities with at least n = 10¹⁸ - 10¹⁹ m^-3 (see related posters, this conference). A previous experiment, the Maryland Centrifugal Experiment [R. F. Ellis et. al. Phys. Plasmas 12, 055704 (2005)], demonstrated the basic principle of the centrifugal mirror with T_e = T_i ~ 0.1 keV. The CMFX builds on these results but extends the parameter space to much higher electric fields, steady magnetic fields, and longer plasma duration. CMFX results will be used to inform the design of CMFX-U, the next generation experiment with reactor-relevant magnetic fields and electric fields necessary to achieve Q > 1. The roadmap and timeline to a fusion reactor for the centrifugal mirror concept, including cost modeling, will be presented.