The sun is powered by fusion energy. Hydrogen atoms fuse together into helium atoms, liberating vast amounts of energy in the process. Our understanding of this process emerged early in the 20th century and by the 1950s, research efforts were underway trying to replicate the process on Earth. If it could be done, fusion would be a source of almost unlimited clean energy. But there has been a cynical saying going around for half a century: fusion power is the energy source of the future, and it always will be.
However, in recent years, there has been progress in developing fusion power. Extraordinarily expensive and colossal machines have produced fusion energy albeit consuming more energy than they make. However, for a brief moment in 2022, a fusion reactor at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory did produce more energy than it took to run the machine.
Despite the less than encouraging history, there are now multiple start-up companies dedicated to developing fusion energy and they are optimistic that there will be significant progress over the next few years.
One such company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, located 40 miles northwest of Boston, is building a fusion reactor called SPARC, that they claim will be producing net energy in 2027. They say that their next machine, called ARC, will generate electricity for paying customers in the early 2030s.
A handful of other companies, including Type One Energy, Thea Energy, Realta Fusion, Zap Energy, General Fusion, and Helion Energy are also pursuing fusion reactor designs and also expect to have machines running over the next 5 to 10 years.
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The Quest to Build a Star on Earth
Photo, posted April 21, 2015, courtesy of John Spiri via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio
