Logical approach to tritium vacuum pump selection for fusion applications

• Detailed analysis of current state of vacuum pump development for fusion. • Discussion of advantages and disadvantages of each pump style. • Provides recommendation of fusion community coalescing around a smaller set of pump styles to better engage industrial manufacturers. Vacuum pumps are a critical component of fusion reactors. However, there are dramatically different vacuum pumping needs for different systems in the fusion fuel cycle. There have been limited studies on the applicability of off-the-shelf pumps for use in tritium service, and there is no clear focus for directing pump manufacturers to better meet the needs for fusion applications. In this paper, the advantages and disadvantages of various pumping technologies are discussed along with their ideal point of use.