Development of advanced tritium breeders and neutron multipliers for DEMO solid breeder blankets

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.