Fusion Technology Is Reaching a Turning Point That Could Change The Energy Game

 (dani3315/iStock/Getty Images)

Our society faces the grand challenge of providing sustainable, secure, and affordable means of generating energy while trying to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to net zero around 2050. To date, developments in fusion power, which potentially ticks all these boxes, have been funded almost exclusively by the public sector. However, something is changing.sion

nucler

Private equity investment in the global fusion industry has more than doubled in just one year – from US$2.1 billion in 2021 to US$4.7 billion in 2022, according to a survey from the Fusion Industry Association.

So, what is driving this recent change? There’s lots to be excited about.Before we explore that, let’s take a quick detour to recap what fusion power is.

Merging atoms together

Fusion works the same way our Sun does, by merging two heavy hydrogen atoms under extreme heat and pressure to release vast amounts of energy.It’s the opposite of the fission process used by nuclear power plants, in which atoms are split to release large amounts of energy.

Sustaining nuclear fusion at scale has the potential to produce a safe, clean, almost inexhaustible power source. Our Sun sustains fusion at its core with a plasma of charged particles at around 15 million degrees Celsius. Down on Earth, we are aiming for hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius, because we don’t have the enormous mass of the Sun compressing the fuel down for us.

Scientists and engineers have worked out several designs for how we might achieve this, but most fusion reactors use strong magnetic fields to “bottle” and confine the hot plasma.

Generally, the main challenge to overcome on our road to commercial fusion power is to provide environments that can contain the intense burning plasma needed to produce a fusion reaction that is self-sustaining, producing more energy than was needed to get it started.

Joining the public and private

Fusion development has been progressing since the 1950s. Most of it was driven by government funding for fundamental science. Now, a growing number of private fusion companies around the world are forging ahead toward commercial fusion energy. A change in government attitudes has been crucial to this.

The US and UK governments are fostering public-private partnerships to complement their strategic research programs.For example, the White House recently announced it would develop a “bold decadal vision for commercial fusion energy“.

In the United Kingdom, the government has invested in a program aimed at connecting a fusion generator to the national electricity grid.

The technology has actually advanced, too

In addition to public-private resourcing, the technologies we need for fusion plants have come along in leaps and bounds.

In 2021, MIT scientists and Commonwealth Fusion Systems developed a record-breaking magnet that will allow them to build a compact fusion device called SPARC “that is substantially smaller, lower cost, and on a faster timeline”.

In recent years, several fusion experiments have also reached the all-important milestone of sustaining plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius or above. These include the EAST experiment in China, Korea’s flagship experiment KSTAR, and UK-based company Tokamak Energy.

These incredible feats demonstrate an unprecedented ability to replicate conditions found inside our Sun and keep extremely hot plasma trapped long enough to encourage fusion to occur. In February, the Joint European Torus – the world’s most powerful operational tokamak – announced world-record energy confinement.

And the next-step fusion energy experiment to demonstrate net power gain, ITER, is under construction in France and now about 80 percent complete. Magnets aren’t the only path to fusion, either. In November 2021, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California achieved a historic step forward for inertial confinement fusion.

By focusing nearly 200 powerful lasers to confine and compress a target the size of a pencil’s eraser, they produced a small fusion “hot spot” generating fusion energy over a short time period. In Australia, a company called HB11 is developing proton-boron fusion technology through a combination of high-powered lasers and magnetic fields.

Fusion and renewables can go hand in hand

It is crucial that investment in fusion is not at the cost of other forms of renewable energy and the transition away from fossil fuels. We can afford to expand adoption of current renewable energy technology like solar, wind, and pumped hydro while also developing next-generation solutions for electricity production.

This exact strategy was outlined recently by the United States in its Net-Zero Game Changers Initiative. In this plan, resource investment will be targeted to developing a path to rapid decarbonization in parallel with the commercial development of fusion.

History shows us that incredible scientific and engineering progress is possible when we work together with the right resources – the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines is just one recent example.

It is clear many scientists, engineers, and now governments and private investors (and even fashion designers) have decided fusion energy is a solution worth pursuing, not a pipe dream. Right now, it’s the best shot we’ve yet had to make fusion power a viable reality.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

By: Nathan Garland & Matthew Hole, The Conversation

Nathan Garland, Lecturer in Applied Mathematics and Physics, Griffith University and Matthew Hole, Senior Research Fellow, Mathematical Sciences Institute, Australian National University

Source: Fusion Technology Is Reaching a Turning Point That Could Change The Energy Game : ScienceAlert

.

Related contents:

Nuclear fusion startup backed by Microsoft and Jeff Bezos gets permission to built plant in UK Proactive Investors (US)

10BoldActions   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383942/

3D Pal Toons     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/381689/

3DToon   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/390401/

4brandcommercial        https://jvz1.com/c/202927/375487

7 Minutes Kit      https://jvz8.com/c/202927/374505/

9 figure Success        https://jvz8.com/c/202927/384653/

Ad Raven      https://jvz4.com/c/202927/382796/

ADA Bundle   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/389298/

Ada leadz     https://jvz8.com/c/202927/376381

ADA Web      https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383751/

AdRaven       https://jvz3.com/c/202927/382851/

Adsense Machine      https://jvz2.com/c/202927/290487

Adtivate Agency      https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383700/

AdvertSuite     https://jvz1.com/c/202927/335011/

AdzHero     https://jvz2.com/c/202927/366972/

AffiliateMaestro    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/390785/

AffiliateMatic     https://jvz3.com/c/202927/381148/

Agency Client Finder    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/384619/

AgencyScale      https://jvz4.com/c/202927/383111/

AIWA Commercial     https://jvz2.com/c/202927/365061

ALL-in-One HD Stock    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/381560

Animaxime    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/383307/

Appimize      https://jvz8.com/c/202927/370227

Appoint B Agency     https://jvz1.com/c/202927/384630/

Appointomatic      https://jvz6.com/c/202927/374258

Appowls    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/381231/

Art Of Living    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/382425/

Audiencetoolkit     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/302715

Audika   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/383635/

Audio Studio  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/389119/

Aweber Crash Course     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/383057/

Backlinkindexer    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/88118

BettingMaster      https://jvz2.com/c/202927/387079/

BevTraders    http://www.bevtraders.com/?ref=arminham

Big Audio Club     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/380087/

BigAudio Club    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/380877/

Boost Optimism   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/380692/

BrandElevate   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/381807/

BrandElevate   https://jvzoo.com/c/202927/381812

Bybit     https://www.bybit.com/en-US/invite?ref=ALEXP

CanvaKitz    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/379051/

ChatterPal    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/324615

Clientfinda   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/370806

Clipsreel   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/372682

Commission smasher   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/376879

Content Gorilla   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/330783

Content Tool Kit   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/329145/

contentGenie   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/387717/

CourseAlly eLearning   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/384759/

CourseReel   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/355249

Courserious   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/360397/

Coursova   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/376527

Creaitecontent  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/376986

Credit Repair   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/377815/

Cryptokit    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/383809/

CryptoRocket    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/378113/

CryptoUnderworld     https://jvz8.com/c/202927/374345/

Dealcheck     https://dealcheck.io?fp_ref=armin16

DesignaSuite      https://jvz2.com/c/202927/297271

DesignBeast    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/371547

DevelopSelfEmpowerment     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/383094/

DezignBiz    https://jvz1.com/c/202927/389394/

DFYContentClub     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/381337/

DFYSuite   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/381194/

Diabetes Guide    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/358870/

Diddly Pay’s    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/315596

Diet fitness diabetes   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/286851

Domainname    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/377005

Dominate Email   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/386980/

Doodleoz   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/388622/

Doodleoz   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/388700/

Dropshiply   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383483/

DUX Forex Signals   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/128215/

Easy NFT  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/381381/

EasyIllustratedeBooks    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/66190/

EasyRankr   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/357707/

EBook Agency    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/384573/

Ejaculation Total   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/75989/

Email Monetizer    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/386337/

EngagerMate  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/328172

EngageYard   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/383051/

Explaindio    https://jvz1.com/c/202927/123757/

Extreme Adz   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/379244/

Extreme Coupon  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/216101/

EZ Local Appointment  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/385180/

EZDeals  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/377689/

Ezy  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/381935/

Ezy MultiStores  https://jvzoo.com/c/202927/381935

Facebook Cash Machine   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/382333/

Facedrip  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/376325/

FaceSwap   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/381768/

Fade To Black   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/344541

Fanpage  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/144349

Fitness Nutrition   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/353334/

FitnessVideo   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/390717/

Followup Builder   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/386313/

Forex Atlatian   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/25069/

Forex Blizz   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/144577/

Forex Blue Stark  https://jvz3.com/c/202927/47481/

Forex expert   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/376877

Forex Hybrid Scalper    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/95037/

Forex Joustar   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/381617/

Forex Mastery   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/144621/

Forex Scouts   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/132677/

forrk  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/373449

FusionMT4    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/372523/

FX Goldminer  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/381439/

Galactic  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/188236/

Gaming job   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/184902  s

Genesis Mining   https://www.genesis-mining.com/a/2535466

Gluten free   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/296191

GMB Snap  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/376661/

Graphic Alta  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/324492/

Heal Your Emptiness   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/384848/

High Converting Emails  https://jvz3.com/c/202927/386305/

HostLegends    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/384774/

Hostley Domain Creator   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/379223/

Human Synthesys Studio  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/367353/

ImageX   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/363237/

IMSyndicator  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/370769

Inboxr   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/312692

Insta Keyword    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/351606/

Instant Website   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/377557

InstantWebsiteBundle          https://jvz6.com/c/202927/377557

iTraffic X  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/320466

keysearch  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/236407/

KlickCourse   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/385006/

KlickXCopy    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/385458/

Klippyo Kreators  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/327447

KoinCart   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/383555/

Leadono   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/384592/

LeadsGorilla   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/390077/

Leadvalet   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/385580/

LegalSuites   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/388896/

Levidio Royal Podcasting   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/384025/

Linkable DFY   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/385873/

Linkomatic  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/380937/

LiteTrading   https://www.litefinance.com/?uid=929237543

Live Your Truth  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/379020

Living An Intentional Life    https://jvzoo.com/c/202927/382455

Living an International Life    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/382455/

Local Leader   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/383751/

Local Sites   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/380543/

LocalAgencyBox  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/359468

LocalCentric   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/379339/

LocalioAI    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/378310/

MarketAll      https://jvz2.com/c/202927/386971/

Marketingblocks     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/374934

MarketPresso   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/343043/

Massfluence  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/386885/

Mat1 Simple Funnel   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/380197/

Maxslides  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/376842

Mech Forex Robot   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/383447/

MediaCloudPro   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/343635

Megasuite   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383953/

MemberOwls   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/389039/

Mobi First   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/353694/

Motion Kingdom Studio  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/383177/

Movid Animation  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/380385/

MT4Code System   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/376925

My Passive Income   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/384099/

MyMailIt   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/292919

MyTrafficJacker   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/353558

Next Drive  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/371095/

NichBox  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/370705/

Organic Life Guide  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/366872/

Pcommerce   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/372265/

Phemex  https://phemex.com/register-vt1?referralCode=D8HUS2

Photokit  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/373207/

PicsAds   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/385468/

PigMoneyMethod   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/377665/

Pipstock    http://pipstockexchange.com/register?ref=204

Pitchdeck   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/347847/

Pixal  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/378775/

PixaStudio    https://jvz1.com/c/202927/373089/

Pixivid   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/385213/

PlanB Muscle Growth   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/36517/

PlayerNeos   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/376962

Podcast Advantage   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/379995/

Podcast Masterclass  https://jvz3.com/c/202927/379998/

PodKastr    https://jvz1.com/c/202927/369500/

PopLinks    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/368095/

Postradamus     https://jvz6.com/c/202927/108695

Power Reviews    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/384625/

PowerHabits  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/390625/

Powrsuite   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/376361

PR Rage  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/343405

Prime Stocks   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/369164

Profile mate    https://jvz4.com/c/202927/358049

Promovidz   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/375692/

Push Button Traffic   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/301402

PWA Agency   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/353694/

QR Verse   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383865/

Quintex Capital     https://quintexcapital.com/?ref=arminham

Quit Smoking    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/359081/

QuizMatic   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/387116/

Reputor   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/380159/

Restrosuite   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/390810/

ReVideo  https://jvzoo.com/c/202927/381761

ReviewReel   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/382663/

Rewriter   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/353373/

RSI SEO   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/384381/

Scriptdio   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/385387/

Self Validation   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/389174/

Sendiio   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/325450/

Seniors Income    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/383888/

Senuke  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/279944

ShopABot   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/291955

ShopFunnels   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/384069/

SocialAgency360   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/385357/

SocialMediaMarketing   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/243553/

SociCake  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/321987

Socifeed   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/375706

SociJam  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/309649

Soronity  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/368736

SqribbleEbook   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/283867

Stackable Picture   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/385046/

Steven Alvey’s   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/351754

Stock Mages   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/388669/

Stoodaio   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/388794/

Storymate    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/320972

StoryReel   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/387813/

StreamPilot   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/385431/

Studioninja   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/374965

Sunday Freebie  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/267113/

Super backdrop   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/376524

Survai    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/380933/

Syndranker    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/378143/

Talkingfaces   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/375550

The Internet Marketing   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/289944

Tonai Voice Content   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/383119/

Toon Video Maker    https://jvz2.com/c/202927/357201

TrafficForU   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/381950/

Trendio  https://jvz3.com/c/202927/381003/

TubePal   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/379863/

Tubeserp   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/370472

TubeTargeter  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/377211

TuneMingo    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/386556/

TV Boss Fire  https://jvz6.com/c/202927/379480/

Ultrafunnels A.I   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/381129/

VIADZ Ad Template  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/379307/

Vidcentric   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/376095

Viddeyo    https://jvz6.com/c/202927/382326/

ViddleInteract   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/388716/

Videevolve   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/381011/

Vidently   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/387798/

Video Campaignor      https://jvz4.com/c/202927/387058/

Video Games   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/184902/

VideoEnginePro     https://jvz2.com/c/202927/372916

VideoGameSuite    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/366537/

VideoRobot Enterprise   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/291061

VidKreate   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/386029/

VidMingo   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/378359/

VidRaffle   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/386840/

VidSnatcher    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/342585

VidVoicer    https://jvz1.com/c/202927/379983/

Vidzura   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/385754/

Viral dash   https://jvz6.com/c/202927/375959

Viral Quotes      https://jvz2.com/c/202927/386984/

VirtualReel   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/376849

Vocalic  https://jvz2.com/c/202927/383848/

VoiceBuddy    https://jvz1.com/c/202927/342854

Voiclet   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/388755/

VR Studio  https://jvz8.com/c/202927/388296/

WebCop  https://jvz4.com/c/202927/378683/

Webinarkit   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/383937/

Webprimo   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/379455/

WordPress Mastery   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/386249/

WowBackgraounds   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/381556/

WP GDPR    https://jvz8.com/c/202927/299907

WP Simulator    https://jvz3.com/c/202927/46987/

Writer Arc   https://jvz1.com/c/202927/386602/

writing job   https://jvz8.com/c/202927/213027

XBrain Forex   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/372305/

XFUNNELS   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/310335

Xinemax  https://jvz1.com/c/202927/381749/

YoDrive   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/384700/

YoSeller   https://jvz4.com/c/202927/387544/

Your 3DPal   https://jvz2.com/c/202927/381685/

YTSuite   https://jvzoo.com/c/202927/381179

Zappable   https://jvz3.com/c/202927/367328/