Change takes energy. This is the basic problem at the root of civilization. It’s the reason we have become so dependent on fossil fuels and the reason we continue to release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — despite knowing full well that it rapidly deteriorates our climate, with disastrous consequences.
On Aug. 8, 2021, an experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) made a significant step toward ignition, achieving a yield of more than 1.3 megajoules (MJ). This advancement puts researchers at the threshold of fusion ignition, an important goal of the NIF, and opens access to a new experimental regime.
The sun’s energy comes from tiny particles smashing into each other, fusing, and releasing heat in the process. Physicists tried to control that same power in labs since the dawn of the nuclear age. It’s called fusion, and it’s been the next big thing in energy for the better part of a century.
The half-century pursuit of commercial fusion power has reached a milestone with the shipment of supermagnets — the most powerful ever built — from a factory outside of San Diego to a behemoth fusion test reactor in France.
A start-up founded by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says it is nearing a technological milestone that could take the world a step closer to fusion energy, which has eluded scientists for decades.
As the debate continues in Washington about the best ways to create high-quality, family-sustaining jobs, strengthen our nation’s leadership as the world’s “idea factory,” and finally achieve net-zero emissions, a solution that helps address each goal is readily apparent: fusion energy.
Fusion energy has long been considered as a way forward for decarbonising energy production, but its vast complexity and expense has made experimentation the plaything of rich nations with extremely deep pockets.
A prototype power plant designed by architect Amanda Levete’s firm AL_A with a nuclear fusion reactor is set to be built in Oxfordshire, England.
Gov. Jay Inslee was in attendance Tuesday morning as the fusion clean energy facility broke ground in Everett.
Funded by a global syndicate of leading energy venture capital firms, industry leaders, and technology pioneers, General Fusion is working with Canadian Nuclear Laboratories in a vital project to advance fusion energy technology. Through this collaboration, General Fusion and Canadian Nuclear Laboratories will develop tritium extraction techniques for use in commercial fusion power plants.