Carbon-free fusion power could be ‘on the grid in 15 years’

[XCV330]

JET reached 69 MJ for five seconds. JET is now a very old design. It's impressive they are getting this result, and even better that they are still using it while ITER continues to be ponderously built.

(edited.. not sure what the Q was, but lower than 1 obviously)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/08/climate/nuclear-fusion-energy-milestone-climate/index.html

 

[Oddish]

Is it possible? Obviously, yes.
Is it attainable? Yes, I think so.
When will it happen? Probably not in my lifetime.

But, if and when it does, we will have unlimited power. Especially if we can get a network of hydrogen barges running between here and Jupiter, which is basically a large ball of mostly hydrogen.

 

[StarCruiser]

As always - there's still no "free lunch"... Gotta build the reactors (Where? Materials and cost? Env. Impact?), gotta setup and maintain fuel supplies (space sourced will be expensive but...given time?), reactors will wear out over time and need to be replaced/upgraded etc. etc...

 

[Jedi Marso]

As always - there's still no "free lunch"... Gotta build the reactors (Where? Materials and cost? Env. Impact?), gotta setup and maintain fuel supplies (space sourced will be expensive but...given time?), reactors will wear out over time and need to be replaced/upgraded etc. etc...

You're right, but these are the same problems we have with every current type of power generation.

 

[StarCruiser]

Yes - and that's why I brought it up. Got to keep some perspective. Fusion will DEFINITELY be a great thing to achieve but, it's not a magic bullet that will fix absolutely everything.

We have to keep in mind that it's just a better tool in our tool box and it will come with it's own unique cost/benefit vs. what we have available now.

 

[Mudd]

Okay, just nine years to go...

 

[XCV330]

Okay, just nine years to go...

That old quip isn't working as well, anymore.
Breakeven has happened. Actual progress has been made.
https://physics.aps.org/articles/v17/14
I suspect if the world hadn't put most of its eggs in the ITER basket there might be even more progress right now, but things are happening on many different fronts. It's no longer in the "What if" category, but the "how to commercialize it" stage.
Speaking of which: Helion is starting to assemble the Polaris reactor this month. It's the prototype for their commercial powerplant.

 

[publiusr]

Ever closer—perhaps. Meet NORM:

Magnetic confinement advance promises 100 times more fusion power at half the cost

A team of fusion researchers at TAE Technologies, Inc., in the U.S., working with colleagues from the University of California, has developed a new type of fusion technology that the company claims produces 100 times the power of other designs while costing just half as much to run. Their study...

phys.org

 

[Oddish]

If we can make fusion safe and reliable, we'll have a near unlimited energy source.