All posts tagged: fusion

World’s largest nuclear fusion reactor promises to reshape global energy production

World’s largest nuclear fusion reactor promises to reshape global energy production

Published by skeptic

In a historic moment that promises to reshape the future of energy production, Japan inaugurated the world’s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor. (CREDIT: ITER) In a historic moment that promises to reshape the future of energy production, Japan inaugurated the world’s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor. This monumental undertaking, known as the JT-60SA reactor, marks a significant stride in the pursuit of harnessing the power of nuclear fusion, a technology still in its infancy but hailed by many as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs. Fusion, a groundbreaking process that distinguishes itself from the prevailing nuclear fission technique utilized in existing nuclear power plants, involves the fusion of two atomic nuclei, as opposed to the splitting of one. The primary objective behind the JT-60SA reactor is to scrutinize the viability of fusion as a safe, large-scale, and carbon-free source of net energy. The ultimate goal is to generate more energy from fusion than is consumed in the process of producing it. Pictured, the JT-60SA, the world’s biggest nuclear fusion reactor constructed to date, prior …

First Light Fusion hails ‘resounding success’ of first shot in New Mexico lab

First Light Fusion hails ‘resounding success’ of first shot in New Mexico lab

Published by skeptic

Oxfordshire-based First Light Fusion revealed that its first shot (experiment) on the Z Machine in New Mexico was a “resounding success” strengthening the case for the company’s amplifier technology. It means it has become the first private fusion company to ‘fire’ a shot on the Sandia National Laboratories ‘Z Machine’ in the US. READ MORE: First Light Fusion strengthens relationship with US-based research lab Sandia First light’s amplifier technology can amplify and increase a small amount of pressure from the impact of a projectile to generate the pressures required for fusion. Rather than use expensive lasers, it uses a projectile fired from a pulsed power machine as the driver. Nick Hawker, founder and CEO of First Light Fusion, said the shot was a “considerable scientific landmark” for the company. “It proves First Light’s target technology works across driver platforms and specifically on the most powerful pulsed power machine in the world,” he said. “This validates that the core technology scales in line with simulations and highlights experimental capability of First Light’s team. The success of …

MIT Claims Superconducting Breakthrough Means Fusion Power Can Be Practical

MIT Claims Superconducting Breakthrough Means Fusion Power Can Be Practical

Published by skeptic

“Now fusion has a chance.” Live Fusion Reaction More than two years since MIT claimed its scientists achieved a breakthrough in fusion energy, the university is claiming that new research “confirms” that the magnet-based design used in those tests isn’t just impressive in a lab setting, but is practical and economically viable, too. These findings come from a comprehensive report which features six separate studies published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity this month, assessing the feasibility of the superconductor magnets used by MIT scientists in their landmark test conducted in September 2021. “Overnight, it basically changed the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40 in one day,” Dennis Whyte, former director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and a professor of engineering, said in a release. “Now fusion has a chance.” Compress For Success Fusion is the process that powers stars, including our Sun. Small and abundant atoms like hydrogen are combined together, generating heat that can be harnessed for electricity. Unlike nuclear fission, the …

MIT researchers achieve fusion energy breakthrough

MIT researchers achieve fusion energy breakthrough

Published by skeptic

In a breakthrough that paved the way for unlimited carbon-free energy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers successfully tested a novel high-temperature superconducting magnet capable of generating a world-record 20-tesla magnetic field strength, a crucial milestone for enabling practical fusion power plants. Nearly three years after achieving this test, MIT researchers have now published a comprehensive analysis validating their record-smashing superconducting magnet technology, a key step toward commercial reactors that could provide unlimited clean power “Overnight, it basically changed the cost per watt of a fusion reactor by a factor of almost 40 in one day,” said Dennis Whyte, former director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center. “Now fusion has a chance of being economical.” At the heart of the breakthrough is a magnet made from a superconducting material called REBCO that can operate at a higher temperature of 20 kelvins, eliminating the need for complex insulation between conductor windings. This “no-insulation” design, proved highly stable and simplified fabrication. But the rigorous testing process didn’t stop there. Over several additional runs, researchers deliberately pushed …

Fusion startup plans to shoot space junk with lasers

Fusion startup plans to shoot space junk with lasers

Published by skeptic

A Japanese startup plans to point the lasers it is developing for nuclear fusion at the sky to see if they can knock space junk out of orbit. Space debris 101: Millions of pieces of space junk — hardware humans sent into space and didn’t retrieve — are orbiting Earth, and because this space debris travels up to 18,000 miles per hour, a collision can seriously damage operational spacecraft.  NASA tracks debris larger than 10 centimeters and will take evasive maneuvers to prevent potential collisions, but something as small as a screw can be damaging, and as space gets more crowded, we’re going to need a way to track and, ideally, remove smaller space junk. The power of a laser for destroying space junk is an order of magnitude lower than for nuclear fusion. Kazuki Matsuo Laser power: Japanese startup EX-Fusion is, as you might guess from the name, in the nuclear fusion business. Specifically, it’s developing a fusion reactor that will use lasers that apply force to objects (rather than just heating or cutting them) to compress hydrogen atoms until they merge. The …

UK spurns European invitation to join ITER nuclear fusion project

UK spurns European invitation to join ITER nuclear fusion project

Published by skeptic

Inside the construction of the ITER reactor The UK government has declined an invitation to become an official member of the ITER nuclear fusion experiment, having lost access to the project following Brexit. Instead, it plans to focus on UK-based fusion efforts, both public and private. ITER, the world’s largest fusion experiment, is under construction in France and is expected to be completed in 2025 after many delays. The project is being funded by a huge international collaboration including China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the US and the European Union. The UK did have access to ITER through the EU, but, since Brexit, has fallen outside of it. Negotiations with the EU have subsequently seen announcements that the UK would rejoin Horizon Europe, a joint scientific research effort, but not Euratom, which focuses on nuclear power. The head of Euratom Research, Elena Righi, seemingly called for the UK to officially rejoin the ITER experiment this week, but the UK government has said it stands by its decision to step down and believes private sector …

UKAEA to collaborate with Kyoto Fusioneering on nuclear fusion tech

UKAEA to collaborate with Kyoto Fusioneering on nuclear fusion tech

Published by skeptic

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) in Oxford has signed an agreement with private Japanese firm Kyoto Fusioneering to encourage the exchange of nuclear knowledge and skills. This sets the stage for collaboration on a new technology pertaining to tritium ‘breeding blankets’ – a key component of many fusion reactor designs which produces tritium fuel for the nuclear reaction. The aim is to bring the design from its current conceptual stage towards commercialisation. Moving forward, the organisations will conduct research together into areas such as the tritium fuel cycle, remote handling and thermal cycle technologies. Hear the latest insights from property experts on The Business Magazine’s new podcast Stephen Wheeler, executive director of UKAEA, said: “Fusion energy promises to be a safe, low-carbon and sustainable part of the world’s future energy supply. “Kyoto Fusioneering has expanded its skills and capabilities in the UK and Japan and this partnership provides us a means to access them in both locations. “We look forward to working with them on these projects to develop new technologies.” Kyoto Fusioneering was …

This company wants to turn a Tennessee coal plant into a fusion reactor

This company wants to turn a Tennessee coal plant into a fusion reactor

Published by skeptic

Type One energy has announced its intention to use a retired TVA coal plant site, the Bull Run Fossil Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as the site for a prototype fusion reactor with the hope to eventually commercialize fusion power – and maybe even find a neat way to use old EV batteries to help power the process. The Bull Run Fossil Plant was a coal-powered generation facility first opened in 1967 and shut down on December 1, 2023 – just over two months ago. It was run by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public utility in the US, and sits just across the river from Oak Ridge, the site of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), one of America’s most important national science labs. Despite only being shut down for two months, claims are already being made on the site. Due to its close location to ORNL, a lab that has studied fusion since the 1950s, it seems a natural choice for another fusion experiment – enter Type One energy, a company looking to work …

World’s largest nuclear fusion reactor is now online promising to reshape global energy production

World’s largest nuclear fusion reactor is now online promising to reshape global energy production

Published by skeptic

The world’s biggest experimental nuclear fusion reactor in operation was inaugurated in Japan, a technology in its infancy but billed by some as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs. (CREDIT: ITER) In a historic moment that promises to reshape the future of energy production, Japan inaugurated the world’s largest experimental nuclear fusion reactor. This monumental undertaking, known as the JT-60SA reactor, marks a significant stride in the pursuit of harnessing the power of nuclear fusion, a technology still in its infancy but hailed by many as the answer to humanity’s future energy needs. Fusion, a groundbreaking process that distinguishes itself from the prevailing nuclear fission technique utilized in existing nuclear power plants, involves the fusion of two atomic nuclei, as opposed to the splitting of one. The primary objective behind the JT-60SA reactor is to scrutinize the viability of fusion as a safe, large-scale, and carbon-free source of net energy. The ultimate goal is to generate more energy from fusion than is consumed in the process of producing it. Situated in a hangar in …