The fusion power plant promises to generate more energy than a nuclear fission plant without producing radioactive waste.
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in California, USA. (Photo: David Butow).
The U.S. government hopes to build a commercial nuclear fusion facility within the next ten years as part of its efforts to transition to clean energy, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm shared on September 25. Calling it pioneering technology, Granholm stated that President Joe Biden aims to harness fusion reactions as a carbon-free energy source capable of powering businesses and households.
Fusion reactions work by fusing hydrogen atoms to create helium, releasing tremendous amounts of energy and heat in the process. Unlike some other nuclear reactions, fusion does not produce radioactive waste. Proponents of this technology hope it can replace fossil fuels and many traditional energy sources in the future. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California successfully achieved nuclear fusion for the first time last December after decades of effort. In August of this year, they replicated the reaction and achieved a higher surplus of energy than before.
Nuclear energy is a crucial part of the U.S. government’s goals, including achieving zero carbon emissions in the energy sector by 2035 and across the entire economy by 2050. Currently, most used fuel is stored in nuclear reactors across the United States. Nuclear fuel can be recycled to create new fuel, but critics argue that this process is cost-ineffective and could lead to an increase in nuclear weapons.
- Professor Dennis Whyte, director of the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, believes the U.S. is taking a smart approach to fusion energy by promoting research and design at various companies to implement a pilot project within a decade.
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