The Promise and Challenges of Fusion Energy as a Clean, Sustainable Energy Source

Fusion energy holds great promise as a clean, sustainable source of energy, but its practical implementation has proven to be a challenging endeavor. In a series of posts, we will explore the scientific challenges of fusion energy, the important role of funding, partnerships, and policy in advancing it, and a proposed fusion energy research project. Sign up to be notified of each posting.

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1. Scientific challenges of fusion energy

Fusion energy is produced by the fusion of atomic nuclei, which releases energy. However, to achieve fusion, a significant amount of heat and confinement is required, and the materials must withstand extreme conditions. Achieving a sustained fusion reaction that produces more energy than it consumes is the ultimate goal, but it has proven to be challenging. Scientists have made significant progress in understanding and controlling plasma, the hot and dense state of matter required for fusion, and developing new materials that can withstand the extreme conditions. Nonetheless, significant scientific challenges remain, including developing more efficient confinement techniques and finding materials that can withstand the harsh conditions of a fusion reactor.

2. The importance of funding for fusion research

Fusion research is a long-term, high-risk endeavor that requires significant financial resources. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, global funding for fusion energy research was around $2.7 billion in 2020. The research requires partnerships between academic and industry partners to facilitate knowledge transfer and develop technologies that can be implemented in a commercial fusion reactor.

3. Public-private partnerships

Public-private partnerships have the potential to facilitate and accelerate the progress of fusion research. Successful partnerships can combine the strengths of the public and private sectors and provide additional resources and expertise. However, partnerships must navigate potential conflicts of interest and differences in priorities in order to develop the materials required for a fusion reactor.

4. Policy implications

Policies play an essential role in advancing fusion energy. They provide funding, regulatory frameworks, and incentives that encourage investment in fusion research. Fusion projects could have significant policy implications, including demonstrating the potential economic and environmental benefits of successful fusion energy development. For example, a study by the European Commission estimated that a successful fusion energy industry in Europe could create up to 100,000 jobs and generate annual revenues of up to €20 billion.

5. Future of fusion energy

The potential of fusion energy is vast, with the ability to revolutionize transportation, industry, and more. However, it requires significant research and development, funding, partnerships, and supportive policies to make it a reality. According to the Fusion Industry Association, the global market for fusion energy could be worth over $1 trillion per year by the end of the century.

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Fusion energy holds great promise as a clean, sustainable source of energy, but it requires significant scientific, financial, and policy investments to accelerate progress and make it a reality. By continuing to invest in fusion energy research and development and supporting public-private partnerships and policies, we can move closer to realizing the potential of fusion energy for a sustainable future.

The Future of Energy

Ideas are exciting, Ideas are dangerous, an Idea can change the world.

When someone shares an idea with you, you can't un-think it; you can't give it back; the idea stays with you whether you want it to or not. It's like opening Pandora's box; you can't put the idea back in.

In most cases, repeating an idea over and over is all it takes to gain traction; you might find yourself becoming more comfortable with an idea the more you are exposed to it.

So, how does any movement gain traction? It's simple; you talk about it with everyone.

Limitless power begins here. This is our future.

Let's make the C.A.S.E. for Fusion.

Clean - No CO2 emissions, no long-term waste

Abundant - Enough fusion fuel for a million years

Safe - No catastrophic failures possible

Economic - Capital cost is high, but extremely low fuel cost.

Share this idea with the world. Build a better Tomorrow.

Project Proposal: Nuclear Fusion

Providing energy to Earth’s population is a crucial task for the continued advancement and sustainment of Humanity. The number of energy resources contained within a country’s borders that are accessible can determine whether that country is prosperous or not. Access to energy resources is a prime driver for geopolitical decisions and can affect monetary policy. The cost of produced goods and food are directly affected by the price of fuel. Increased energy production can reduce the cost of everything and provide stability for our society. One could theoretically usher in an age of prosperity for all Humanity. Most books and movies about the future have a dystopian theme. The future holds great things for Humanity, and we believe in our ability to move forward together.

The problem we have in today’s world is an increasing demand for energy resources and a finite amount of available fuel and raw materials. Earth’s population continues to increase, and energy demand per person continues to rise. Always being connected to one other, while beneficial, comes with the unseen opportunity cost of quicker depletion of our natural resources. Most energy systems today have a tradeoff. Fossil fuels, solar, wind, nuclear fission, and biofuels are all excellent solutions for the short term. But we must look ahead 20 or 30 years and begin working on the next era of energy, today.

Nuclear fusion is clean and offers four times the power production potential as today’s nuclear fission. There are many different kinds of nuclear fusion tested around the world today. Various reactor designs, different fuels, and different approaches, all being researched and attempted by different organizations. From public to private, the search for limitless power began back in the 1950s. But up until recently, with advances in plasma physics, we have not been close. Now we are closer than ever. I believe we are within 25 years of solving the energy problem.

The biggest problem plaguing the development of nuclear fusion today is the low process cycle efficiency. The timeline for today’s experiments can be as long as 20 years. The current process includes conducting experiments, analyzing the data, designing a new reactor, requesting funding/zoning, building the new reactor, and starting the cycle again. Business model innovation, rapid prototyping/iteration coupled with next-gen computer modeling, will allow for quicker experiments and further advancement in this field. The overall result leads to the development of a reactor that produces well above breakeven. 

With our current understanding, fusion does not come without its hurdles. The fuel is based on Hydrogen isotopes and requires research into optimal formulas to achieve fusion at the lowest temperatures for maximum energy production. The research currently shows that the fusion between Deuterium and Tritium can optimally accomplish the above goals. Helium and Neutrons are the byproducts of this fusion process. In magnetic confinement fusion, Helium remains within the magnetic field, and the Neutrons pass through to collide with the Heatsink of the reactor. This collision generates heat, and a simple heat exchanger system provides electricity to the grid. Deuterium can be found naturally and harvested from seawater. Tritium is harder to come by; global inventory is estimated at 45 pounds (https://www.iter.org/sci/fusionfuels). 

But, Tritium can be created during the reaction process by neutronic activation of Lithium 6 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tritium), to sustain further fusion. All this to say that there is enough fusion fuel to power the planet for hundreds of thousands of years.  

When we achieve fusion, the world will fundamentally change. Accelerating change will only push our society to need more and more power. Vertical farming, sustainable clean water, quantum computers, colonization of other planets, terraforming, and the end of violent wars hinge upon the development of an energy source accessible to all.

Fusion creates a path towards a bright future, where we can begin to fix our environment and offer different solutions to persistent problems.

The cooperation of some governments to create the ITER organization is a step in the right direction, but big bureaucracies can slow progress. Instead, creating a private company funded by investors and government grants would yield a quicker turnaround time for each experiment. We can learn a lot from companies like Space X who have developed reusable rockets. Rapid prototyping and acceptance for failure can prove to be very powerful during the learning process.

Less time spent on cumbersome solutions can save a lot of capital over time. Using supercomputers with next-gen modeling created by the worlds smartest minds can help us develop the proper reactor designs for different use cases. Commercial quantum computing is less than five years away and can provide valuable insight into the behavior of the particles in a fusion reaction. The addition of this knowledge will allow us to leverage the scarcest resource of all, time.

Although the ideas presented are lofty, we have a limited amount of time to solve our collective problem. A world based on a resource that has a short life span could lead us down a path of uncertainty. Uncertainty breeds fear, and fear leads to conflict. Without clean, sustainable energy, one can expect to see the worst of Humanity within the next 200 years. Although Humans are adaptable, solving this problem sooner rather than later will help us avoid the worst outcomes.  

When our goals for Humanity become so big that we must work together, we will set aside our differences. Fusion will not only get us to the stars but allow us to create them. All the technologies conceived of in science fiction novels are dependent on our ability to sustain previous improvements.

Our future is dependent on the next era of energy,

Nuclear Fusion.