In efforts to develop advanced tritium breeders, the effects of additives to lithium titanate (Li2TiO3) have been investigated, and good prospects have been obtained by using oxide additives such as TiO2, CaO and Li2O. As for the neutron multiplier, the development of a real-size electrode fabrication technique and the characterization of beryllium-based intermetallic compounds such as Be–Ti and Be–V have been performed. Properties of Be–Ti alloys have been found to be better than those of beryllium metal. In particular, steam interaction of a Be–Ti alloy was about 1/1000 as small as that of beryllium metal. These activities have led to bright prospects for the realization of the water-cooled DEMO breeder blanket by application of these advanced materials.
高度なトリチウム増殖材の開発に向けて、チタン酸リチウム（Li2TiO3）への添加剤の影響が調査され、TiO2、CaO、Li2Oなどの酸化物添加剤を用いることで良好な見通しが得られている。中性子増倍材については、実規模電極作製技術の開発と、Be–Ti、Be–Vなどのベリリウム系金属間化合物の特性評価が実施された。Be–Ti合金の特性はベリリウム金属よりも優れていることが明らかとなり、特にBe–Ti合金の水蒸気との反応性はベリリウム金属の約1/1000と極めて低いことが示された。これらの成果により、先進材料を適用した水冷却DEMO増殖ブランケットの実現に向けた明るい見通しが得られている。