Billions in private cash is flooding into fusion power. Will it pay off?
16 hours ago
- #nuclear-technology
- #fusion-energy
- #clean-energy
- Private-sector funding for fusion energy has surged to nearly US$10 billion over the past five years.
- Key drivers include the urgency for carbon-free power, technological advances, and investment from tech billionaires.
- Fusion involves combining light atoms like hydrogen isotopes to release energy, opposite to nuclear fission.
- Achieving fusion on Earth requires extremely high temperatures and strong magnetic fields to contain plasma.
- Current fusion reactors struggle to consistently produce more energy than they consume.
- The ITER project, a multinational effort, aims to demonstrate fusion's feasibility by 2039, producing 500MW of power.
- New designs like SPARC tokamak and stellarators use advanced technologies, including AI and high-temperature superconductors.
- Several companies and projects aim to commercialize fusion power by the mid-2030s to 2040s.
- Fusion projects face significant challenges, including construction complexity and high risk of failure.
- Despite risks, fusion energy development is crucial for long-term sustainable power solutions.