[Science] Fusion is coming. First small scale plant coming as soon as early as the 2030s to 2035.
Covering Affordable, Robust, Compact Plasma reactor (SPARC).
Two months ago
[media=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OxltzrLXTUE&pp=0gcJCfcAhR29_xXO]
Undated for 17, March 2025
Covering:
National Ignition Facility (NIF),
Smallest Possible, Affordable, Robust, Compact (SPARC) and
ARC plasma reactors
See CBS video on link
National Ignition Facility (NIF),
Smallest Possible, Affordable, Robust, Compact (SPARC) and
ARC plasma reactors
See CBS video on link
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fusion-energy-unlocking-the-power-of-the-stars/
The breakthrough, in 2022, crucial to ever creating a fusion power plant, made headlines around the world. Humans had unlocked the power of the stars.
Inside the nuclear fusion breakthrough that could be a step to unlimited clean energy in the distant future ("60 Minutes")
They have achieved ignition several times since then, and now the race is on to generate enough energy to consistently power a commercial fusion plant.
Bob Mumgaard is CEO and co-founder of Commonwealth Fusion Systems outside of Boston, one of more than two dozen fusion startups getting billions of dollars in funding from the government and investors. "It's gonna take time, it's gonna take work, but this is the birth of an industry," Mumgaard said.
Instead of lasers, Commonwealth uses a cloud of super-heated plasma that burns at around 180 million degrees Fahrenheit, held in place by massive magnets that the company manufactures on site. "The magnets in this machine will be the strongest magnets in the world," Mumgaard said. "[They] could lift up an aircraft carrier."
constructing-fusion-energy-chamber.jpg
Constructing a fusion energy chamber at Commonwealth Fusion Systems in Devens, Mass. CBS News
Commonwealth expects to complete its demonstration reactor next year. It just announced plans to build its first full-scale power plant in Virginia, but that won't deliver energy to the grid until sometime next decade. The demonstration reactor, Mumgaard said, "is the penultimate step to that."
Critics point out that fusion power has been an ever-elusive holy grail, always 20 to 30 years away. But startups like Commonwealth say this time is different. The technology is advancing as fast as the need for clean energy is rising – stars aligning in the quest to create stars here on Earth.
"This is not a paper exercise for us," Mumgaard said. "We're putting this machine together, we're buying the parts, we're machining the parts, and it's all coming together at the exact time the world really needs something like this. I think that's a really cool story."
Inside the nuclear fusion breakthrough that could be a step to unlimited clean energy in the distant future ("60 Minutes")
They have achieved ignition several times since then, and now the race is on to generate enough energy to consistently power a commercial fusion plant.
Bob Mumgaard is CEO and co-founder of Commonwealth Fusion Systems outside of Boston, one of more than two dozen fusion startups getting billions of dollars in funding from the government and investors. "It's gonna take time, it's gonna take work, but this is the birth of an industry," Mumgaard said.
Instead of lasers, Commonwealth uses a cloud of super-heated plasma that burns at around 180 million degrees Fahrenheit, held in place by massive magnets that the company manufactures on site. "The magnets in this machine will be the strongest magnets in the world," Mumgaard said. "[They] could lift up an aircraft carrier."
constructing-fusion-energy-chamber.jpg
Constructing a fusion energy chamber at Commonwealth Fusion Systems in Devens, Mass. CBS News
Commonwealth expects to complete its demonstration reactor next year. It just announced plans to build its first full-scale power plant in Virginia, but that won't deliver energy to the grid until sometime next decade. The demonstration reactor, Mumgaard said, "is the penultimate step to that."
Critics point out that fusion power has been an ever-elusive holy grail, always 20 to 30 years away. But startups like Commonwealth say this time is different. The technology is advancing as fast as the need for clean energy is rising – stars aligning in the quest to create stars here on Earth.
"This is not a paper exercise for us," Mumgaard said. "We're putting this machine together, we're buying the parts, we're machining the parts, and it's all coming together at the exact time the world really needs something like this. I think that's a really cool story."
61-69, M
