Nuclear fusion promises unlimited renewable energy, but technological and physical challenges have not allowed humans to harness the power of the sun just yet.
For decades we have been beguiled by the idea that fusion will be the miracle solution to our quest for cheap, limitless, clean energy. Here is an excerpt from a 2016 article from the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab:
In September, a very large, incredibly powerful magnet was unloaded in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance in Southern France to be incorporated into the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a major international collaboration that is attempting to prove the technical feasibility of nuclear fusion.
Long-shot money is flowing into start-ups that seek the energy of the stars. Driving the investments is a rising alarm about global warming.
The UK government on 1 October published a strategy setting out how it aims to leverage scientific, commercial and international leadership to enable the delivery of fusion energy. It has also launched a consultation seeking views on the regulatory framework for ensuring the safe and effective rollout of fusion energy.
Let’s say that you’ve devoted your entire adult life to developing a carbon-free way to power a household for a year on the fuel of a single glass of water, and that you’ve had moments, even years, when you were pretty sure you would succeed.
“You might want to cover your ears,” a senior engineer at First Light Fusion tells me, as we gaze at a bank of screens that looks like a mini version of a Nasa control room. I reach for some ear plugs.
The idea of fusion power has intrigued scientists for nearly 100 years, when they first discovered the process that powers the sun and stars. A fusion reaction, which occurs when atoms fuse together, could generate four times more energy than today’s fission reactors, and about four million times more than burning coal, without producing any…
Former baseball star Alex Rodriguez is backing a startup that’s trying to develop a power plant run off of nuclear fusion — a niche of the energy industry that’s increasingly capturing investors’ attention.
SHINE Medical Technologies LLC today announced that the company has changed its name to SHINE Technologies LLC. SHINE’s new name highlights the company’s core technological competencies, skilled team and focus as a next-generation nuclear technology company.