The unimaginably complex task of producing, containing, and commercializing fusion energy is arguably one of the greatest scientific endeavors of our time.
Since the 1950s, the world’s top scientists and engineers have toiled to transform the processes that power the sun into a clean, safe, and virtually limitless source of energy for humanity.
Despite significant advances, fusion energy has always seemed like a technology that is “20 years away.” But the tide is changing.
“Today, we have all the materials, magnets and lasers needed to make fusion a reality.” Peter Roos, CEO of Novatron Fusion, told TNW.
“Now we have to refine the system and arrive at a good design or set of designs,” he said. Stockholm-based startup Novatron is building a “mirror” fusion reactor that it claims will solve one of fusion’s biggest challenges: maintaining plasma stability.
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Fusion is powered up
Last month, British startup First Light Fusion world pressure record Fusion energy uses a giant “gun” machine that fires a projectile into nuclear fuel, causing the atoms to fuse together. reaction pThe pressure generated exceeds 1.85 terapascals, which is nearly four times the pressure found at the Earth’s core.
In February, European joint torus (JET) — a giant donut-shaped machine in Oxford — set new World record for energy output. 69 megajoules of fusion energy was generated in 5 seconds.
While some fusion machines are reproducing,Most normal reactions currently occurring on Earth last only a few seconds. The biggest challenge is maintaining power generation during off-hours. South Korean researchers reported this week that they had sustained a fusion reaction at 100 million degrees Celsius. 48 seconds -world’s first.
Although they may seem insignificant in themselves, these three achievements represent major advances in the pressures produced, the energy produced, and the durations sustained, which are the key elements of a viable fusion reaction. represents.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. In recent years, countless such records have been reported. Most of these come from Europe. Many of them are made by private companies.
Governments are increasingly recognizing that private companies offer the fastest path to commercialization of fusion energy.
The fusion energy sector could be made up of private fusion energy companies contracted by national agencies, similar to how NASA and ESA increasingly outsource to private companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX. expensive.
“Start-up companies are leveraging decades of fusion research to make it happen,” Ruth said. “It’s only a matter of time [to fusion commercialisation]”
The 2030s is expected to be the decade of fusion’s breakthrough.
Almost every country, scientist, and startup aims to have a nuclear reactor online sometime in the 2030s. That means we could be able to charge our phones with fusion energy in as little as six years.
Experts believe this is well within reach, according to a recent poll taken at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) forum in London. About 65% of insiders think: Fusion will generate electricity for the grid at a viable cost by 203590% by 2040, Telegraph report.
The main driver is decarbonization. Fusion energy promises to provide critical baseload energy for a future world that relies heavily on intermittent renewable energy such as wind and solar. “Fusion does not replace all other energy sources; it complements them,” Ruth said.
Unlike its younger siblings, nuclear fission and fusion energy, it is safe, produces little long-term waste, and requires little water for cooling. The fuel used, deuterium or tritium, is virtually unlimited, at least for the next several thousand years.
In the race to expand clean energy sources, it’s no wonder governments are betting big on nuclear fusion.
In the United States, Congress recently approved a record-breaking bill. $763 million Fusion energy research. China launched its own fusion consortium in January, bringing together some of the country’s biggest industrial players to build a viable fusion reactor.
Europe is caught between these two giants.
Europe is ready to lead
In 2014, EU member states came together to establish EUROFusion, the EU’s answer to scaling up research and development in fusion energy.The budget for this program is EUR1 billion from 2021 to 2025.
EUROFusion’s proverbial “baby” is ITER. A €22 billion fusion reactor is currently under construction in France. The project has faced several delays, but ITER is scheduled to deliver its first plasma next year.
“ITER will provide a wealth of knowledge for start-up companies pursuing commercially viable fusion reactions,” Ruth said.
Other machines, like the Wendelstein 7-X at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany, have been the starting point for startups such as: proxima fusion.
But perhaps Europe’s greatest asset is Britain. The UK has been actively promoting fusion research for decades.of Culham Fusion Energy Center The area around Oxford is widely known as the world’s center of fusion energy research.
Culham is home to the Joint European Torus (JET), which formed the backbone of fusion research for more than 40 years until its retirement in December.
The UK is currently developing the Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) project, a £2 billion grid-connected fusion project to replace JET. reactor The aim is to produce more electricity than it uses.
Well-funded start-ups spun out of the cluster, such as First Light Fusion and Tokamak Energy, have blossomed from the wealth of knowledge based in Culham.
Europe’s research and reactor infrastructure gives companies operating in Europe a significant head start. Now all you have to do is keep them there.
Can Europe retain its talent?
Europe may have an advantage in research, but the flow of funds is freer in the United States.
For example, US fusion startup Commonwealth Fusion (backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson) has secured billions of dollars to become the first to commercialize fusion energy. This is a much higher number than other European companies.
Germany’s Marvel Fusion announced last year that it had selected the United States to build a $150 million laser facility.
When asked why,US, CEO Moritz von der Lindenold financial times He said it was “the fastest and most capital efficient way for us to proceed with construction of this facility.”
As competition for commercial fusion intensifies, support for European start-ups is essential to fostering a strong local fusion energy sector that is independent of foreign technology.
“we [Europe] We need sufficient public funding dedicated to fusion innovation, but we also need policy incentives to encourage further private investment in the field.” Cyril My TanEuropean Director of the Fusion Industry Association.
Regardless of who wins the race, the good news is that nearly 70 years after humanity began its quest to harness the power of the sun, the day of fusion energy is finally dawning. And that, no matter how you slice it, is a positive step forward for all of us.
