Nuclear fusion

Thermonuclear power

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2024: Realistic 3D visualization of nuclear fusion has been created. Photo

Physicists from the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne have developed a system that simulates in real time the operation of a tokamak using 3D imaging technology. The technology will help study the complex behavior of plasma during the process of nuclear fusion. To create images, the system calculates the trajectories of thousands of moving particles at a rate of 60 times per second.^[1]

2023

Student-built fusion reactor debuts in Australia

Students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have embarked on the development of a tokamak-based nuclear fusion reactor. The main problem of nuclear fusion so far has been the creation of conditions under which the production of energy by the reaction will exceed the costs of its launch. This became known on September 18, 2023. Read more here.

A unique installation for creating and heating plasma was launched in Russia. It will help in the development of thermonuclear reactor materials

On July 25, 2023, the National Research University MPEI announced the launch of a unique plasma plant for testing thermonuclear reactor materials and developing plasma engine technologies. The so-called plasma linear multicasp (PLM) is a magnetic trap for creating and heating plasma. Read more here.

2021: China's' artificial sun 'sets new record

At the end of May 2021, it became known that Chinese researchers working on a nuclear fusion project managed to hold plasma with a temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for almost two minutes. This became a new record. Read more here.

2018: Gates, Bezos and Branson flock to nuclear fusion

On October 30, 2018, it became known that Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson rushed into the sphere of nuclear fusion, which the late Stephen Hawking called the most promising technology of mankind. The richest people on the planet are willing to invest in startups developing commercial fusion-based thermonuclear reactors rather than atom splitting.

Scientists have long known that nuclear fusion can revolutionize the energy industry, but the costs of developing it have been too high. However, recent advances in 3D printing, machine learning and data processing are all changing. The International Atomic Energy Agency held a thermonuclear fusion forum that featured 800 peer-reviewed scientific papers - 60% more than 10 years ago.

Inside the nuclear reactor

Nuclear fusion itself is not a problem, as scientists note. The real problem is getting more energy than was spent in the process. Such reactors must simulate conditions that exist only in deep space, which requires much greater and expensive efforts than core splitting.

But even if obtaining commercially viable nuclear fusion technology takes longer than expected, many of the discoveries made during development could be profitable for creators now. Innovations like these are being aggressively introduced in other industries, from software that simulates plasma burning at 150 million degrees Celsius to a new type of magnet that has found application in healthcare.

However, nuclear fusion companies do not intend to be content with only collateral revenues. Scientists see their work as a contribution to the future - they probably will not see the results of their work at all, given that the creation of a real working reactor is not expected before 2050. One of the most ambitious startups in the industry is Commonwealth Fusion Systems, founded in 2017 by six University of Massachusetts professors. They believe that with the support of large investors, they will be able to create a prototype of the so-called "energy-efficient" reactor by 2025.

In March 2018, Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised $50 million from a group of investors led by Italian company Eni SpA, one of several oil producers who want to stay afloat in the world of new energy sources. And in October 2018, the company received support from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a fund sponsored by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and other tycoons including Richard Branson, Ray Dalio and Bloomberg LP owner Michael Bloomberg. The amount received was not disclosed.

However, Commonwealth Fusion Systems also has many rivals - primarily ITER, which, according to some experts, came closest to the theory of producing cheap energy on a mass scale. It is believed that so far only ITER has the resources necessary to develop a reactor capable of supplying energy to entire cities. It is worth considering that even this company took 30 years to lay the foundations for a viable concept of production, but scientists working on nuclear fusion technology note that with the existing level of development of science and technology, creating a reactor is a matter of the near future. According to them, the efforts made by international companies are simply too ambitious for any player in the private sector, and therefore cannot yet be appreciated.

Nevertheless, nuclear fusion is often criticized, including Elon Musk, co-founder of Tesla and Solar City. He believes that the funds are better spent on finding more effective ways to capture the energy of the Sun than on trying to recreate a star on Earth.^[2]

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