ENERGY SECURITYCan Nuclear Fusion Help Fuel the World?
The US Department of Energy is expected to make an important announcement Tuesday on the generation of energy using nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion reaction has a higher energy potential than all other energy sources we know. It can release nearly 4 million times more energy than chemical reactions like burning coal, oil or gas, and four times more than nuclear fission. Nuclear fission is the process currently used in all nuclear power plants around the world.
The US Department of Energy will announce a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology this week, department spokespeople said Sunday. The milestone announcement is expected from Washington on Tuesday.
The announcement was made shortly after the Financial Times reported scientists at the California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) successfully generated a “net energy gain” using nuclear fusion in a lab for the first time.
For decades, scientists have pumped more energy into experimental fusion reactors than the total new energy created in the process. This setback has made nuclear fission — not fusion — the default preference in the pursuit of limitless, zero-carbon power, despite its health and safety risks.
Here’s what you need to know about nuclear fusion.
The “Future of Energy”
If you work in atomic energy, you’ve probably heard the joke: Generating electricity from nuclear fusion is always just 30 years away. But despite its complexity, scientists working on the technology say it’s worth the trouble.
That’s because the nuclear fusion reaction has a higher energy potential than all other energy sources we know. It can release nearly 4 million times more energy than chemical reactions like burning coal, oil or gas, and four times more than nuclear fission, the process currently used in all nuclear power plants around the world.
Discovered in the early 20th century, fusion is seen as the future of energy by many policymakers, especially in Europe.
“’Like Burning Firewood”
But is nuclear fusion really a “greener” alternative to what we’re doing now, and how far have we come in generating electricity from this process?
To look into this, DW visited the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a large collaborative project between nuclear fusion experts from 35 nations.
Located a couple of hours from the scenic coast of southern France, ITER stands out along the idyllic landscape surrounding it. The project’s compound is laden with metal sheds, workshops and equipment. Busy scientists and technicians roam the reactor’s campus in hard hats, rubber boots and neon vests.
Sitting at the center of this industrial landscape, Pietro Barabaschi, the Director General of ITER, promises that the future of fusion energy is bright.
He explains that generating fusion energy is like burning firewood.
“First, you start a flame, heat the wood and at some point a chemical reaction starts, and then this reaction is enough to burn the rest of the wood.”
