Logan Webber
Can the same process that powers the Sun unlock unlimited clean energy for humankind?
Rising Energy Demand
Environmental Degradation
Climate Change
Fusion energy – the same process that powers the Sun – has long been considered the holy grail of clean electricity. After decades of research, it’s finally entering the realm of possibility. Unlike traditional nuclear fission, which splits large atoms like uranium or plutonium to release energy, fusion works by combining light atoms – typically hydrogen isotopes – under extreme pressure and temperature. The result is a reaction with exceptionally high energy density, greater than both fission and fossil fuels. Fusion is also inherently clean: it produces no CO2 emissions and generates far less long-lived radioactive waste than today’s nuclear power plants. Critically, it is far safer than fission. Fusion reactions require such precise, demanding conditions that any disturbance causes the reaction to halt instantly – eliminating the risk of a runaway meltdown.
Nuclear fusion is the process powering the core of every star in the cosmos. The inverse of traditional fission, nuclear fusion combines light atomic nuclei to release massive amounts of energy. Source: IAEA
With all these advantages, fusion energy may appear too good to be true. Indeed, researchers have been working on this problem since the 1950s, with the running joke being that the technology is perpetually “thirty years away.” However, recent progress in both public and private sectors demonstrates that this technology is finally on the verge of implementation.
The world’s largest ongoing fusion experiment, ITER, is headquartered in France, with seven major members: China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States. However, the ITER development track has been burdened by excessive budgets and delays, spurring the growth of a booming fusion startup industry. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is one such startup, spun out of MIT, with plans to demonstrate a tokamak that produces net energy by the end of the decade. Other companies, such as Helion, Tri-Alpha Energy (TAE), and General Fusion, have similar plans. In December 2022, the National Ignition Facility produced net energy from controlled fusion for the first time in history, albeit in a laboratory setting. With a handful of engineering problems left to be solved, today’s question is no longer whether commercial fusion is possible, but when it will arrive.
Many possible fusion reactor schemes exist, but the Tokamak is the most promising. This device uses superconducting magnets to heat a hydrogen plasma to thermonuclear temperatures inside of a donut-shaped vessel. Source: IAEA
A recent study from the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) found that for commercial fusion coming online in 2035, significant market penetration can be achieved by the end of the century, depending on various economic parameters. This technology could be the key to deep decarbonization of hard sectors, such as heavy industry and manufacturing. At this critical moment, support for fusion pilot plants, robust investment in enabling supply chains (like tritium production and component manufacturing), and the development of favorable regulatory frameworks is critical. Coordinated, long-term planning can position fusion at the forefront of clean energy generation in the coming decades.
Fusion energy alone won’t solve today’s climate crisis – but if the world plans ahead, it could help power a cleaner, more resilient energy future for centuries to come.
A recent study from the MIT Energy Initiative found that fusion energy (pink) has the potential to contribute significantly to the global energy mix in the latter half of the 21st Century. Source: MITei.
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