Fusion power is a credible solution to the world's energy problems. Why isn't it being pursued as a global priority?
Nuclear fusion produces energy by combining atoms to release heat. It will be a much cleaner source of energy than current nuclear fission power plants and will avoid most of the problem of radioactive waste that has plagued the nuclear industry.
Nuclear fusion has been demonstrated in the laboratory (see for instance the results from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. The Joint European Torus (JET) is the only operational fusion experiment capable of producing fusion energy. JET has demonstrated that fusion power is possible and has led to the building of the ITER reactor which is a joint project between the EU, USA, China, India, Japan, Korea and Russia. While JET represents a pure scientific experiment, the reactor scale experiment ITER is designed to deliver ten times the power it consumes.
According to the ITER literature: "ITER is not an end in itself: it is the bridge toward a first plant that will demonstrate the large-scale production of electrical power and Tritium fuel self-sufficiency. This is the next step after ITER: the Demonstration Power Plant, or DEMO for short. A conceptual design for such a machine could be complete by 2017. If all goes well, DEMO will lead fusion into its industrial era, beginning operations in the early 2030s, and putting fusion power into the grid as early as 2040."
The most amazing feature of fusion research is that this new source of energy has been shown to be feasible at a time when clean energy is desperately needed but the project is proceeding at a truly leisurely pace. This project, which promises abundant, clean energy, is being funded at a mere 300 million euros a year over 30 years! Fusion experiments at ITER will not begin until 2019.
There can be no doubt that this fusion project will confront huge technological challenges but these can be overcome if there is sufficient investment and drive. Unfortunately the project is under attack from the scientific establishment itself because it diverts funds away from pure science. Come on world leaders, don't make scientists pay with their careers for this technological and industrial project that will benefit everyone. Up the budget by 10 or even 20 times, lets have fusion power by 2025 not 2040. Five or ten billion euros a year is nothing for the combined economies of the EU, USA, China, Russia, India, South Korea, Japan.
Nuclear fusion produces energy by combining atoms to release heat. It will be a much cleaner source of energy than current nuclear fission power plants and will avoid most of the problem of radioactive waste that has plagued the nuclear industry.
Nuclear fusion has been demonstrated in the laboratory (see for instance the results from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. The Joint European Torus (JET) is the only operational fusion experiment capable of producing fusion energy. JET has demonstrated that fusion power is possible and has led to the building of the ITER reactor which is a joint project between the EU, USA, China, India, Japan, Korea and Russia. While JET represents a pure scientific experiment, the reactor scale experiment ITER is designed to deliver ten times the power it consumes.
According to the ITER literature: "ITER is not an end in itself: it is the bridge toward a first plant that will demonstrate the large-scale production of electrical power and Tritium fuel self-sufficiency. This is the next step after ITER: the Demonstration Power Plant, or DEMO for short. A conceptual design for such a machine could be complete by 2017. If all goes well, DEMO will lead fusion into its industrial era, beginning operations in the early 2030s, and putting fusion power into the grid as early as 2040."
The most amazing feature of fusion research is that this new source of energy has been shown to be feasible at a time when clean energy is desperately needed but the project is proceeding at a truly leisurely pace. This project, which promises abundant, clean energy, is being funded at a mere 300 million euros a year over 30 years! Fusion experiments at ITER will not begin until 2019.
There can be no doubt that this fusion project will confront huge technological challenges but these can be overcome if there is sufficient investment and drive. Unfortunately the project is under attack from the scientific establishment itself because it diverts funds away from pure science. Come on world leaders, don't make scientists pay with their careers for this technological and industrial project that will benefit everyone. Up the budget by 10 or even 20 times, lets have fusion power by 2025 not 2040. Five or ten billion euros a year is nothing for the combined economies of the EU, USA, China, Russia, India, South Korea, Japan.
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