The purpose of the workshop is to carry out an assessment of the areas in which fusion-fission devices might be useful such as the production of fuel for fission reactors, direct electricity production, and closing the nuclear fuel cycle by transmuting spent nuclear fuel from fission reactors. In carrying out this assessment, comparisons to other options that might be used for the same purposes (e.g., fast reactors, accelerator-driven transmutation, etc.) will be necessary.

In this assessment, the workshop will explore technical aspects of various fusion-fission concepts and the research needed to further develop them. This will assist DOE in clarifying the long-term potential of combining aspects of fusion and fission, in identifying research thrusts needed to develop the knowledge for a fusion-fission device, and in identifying the scientific grand challenges associated with fusion-fission.