> you will always need at least a small fission reactor to breed some tritium
The idea for future designs is to breed Tritium in the blanket surrounding the vessel. This obviates the need for external sources.
> everything close to the reactor becomes brittle in 2-4 years
I'm no expert on solid state physics, but that seems a little short? JET is more than ten times as old, and as we speak it's in its second run of D-T experiments.
> These are all intrinsic limitations of fusion that fission reactors just don't have
To be clear these are limitations of a specific kinds of fusion reaction and/or reactor design, primarily that of Deuterium-Tritium in a solid-walled tokamak. This may be a nitpick as it's currently far and away the most promising for energy production, and the alternatives are much further from any sort of workable prototype, but I have heard of them undergoing active research: tri-alpha (aneutronic reaction, meaning no activation or embrittlement of reactor components), liquid metal for the walls and divertor (in effect, continuously replacing neutron-bombarded material), etc.
The idea for future designs is to breed Tritium in the blanket surrounding the vessel. This obviates the need for external sources.
> everything close to the reactor becomes brittle in 2-4 years
I'm no expert on solid state physics, but that seems a little short? JET is more than ten times as old, and as we speak it's in its second run of D-T experiments.
> These are all intrinsic limitations of fusion that fission reactors just don't have
To be clear these are limitations of a specific kinds of fusion reaction and/or reactor design, primarily that of Deuterium-Tritium in a solid-walled tokamak. This may be a nitpick as it's currently far and away the most promising for energy production, and the alternatives are much further from any sort of workable prototype, but I have heard of them undergoing active research: tri-alpha (aneutronic reaction, meaning no activation or embrittlement of reactor components), liquid metal for the walls and divertor (in effect, continuously replacing neutron-bombarded material), etc.