Laser fusion startups launch quest for unlimited energy
Companies seek to commercialize advances made by federally supported research labs in the quest for unlimited energy.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0 ">Take some hydrogen, then blast it with lasers to trigger a small thermonuclear explosion. Do it right, and maybe you can solve the world's energy needs.A small group of start-ups has embarked on this quest, pursuing his own variations on this theme — different lasers, different techniques for triggering fusion reactions, different elements for fusing.
“There has been rapid growth,” a said Andrew Holland, Managing Director of Fusion. Industry Association, a trade group that lobbies for policies to accelerate fusion development.
Private enterprise promises rapid innovation, but it is of a breakthrough obtained thanks to a major, expensive and heavy project. government-run project that sparked this wave of attention to laser fusion.
In December of last year, after years of testing, the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, at Lawrence Livermore The National Laboratory said it had finally lived up to its middle name: ignition. For the first time, a laser-induced fusion burst produced more energy than that provided by incoming lasers.
"We are really excited about the results of the NIF," said Kramer Akli, who manages the Inertial Fusion Energy Sciences program at the U.S. Department of Energy.
There ten years ago, a report from the National Academy of Sciences revealed a lot. appreciate the energy potential of laser fusion, but recommended that the United States suspend major investments until ignition is achieved.
This moment is came.
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Companies seek to commercialize advances made by federally supported research labs in the quest for unlimited energy.
< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0 ">Take some hydrogen, then blast it with lasers to trigger a small thermonuclear explosion. Do it right, and maybe you can solve the world's energy needs.A small group of start-ups has embarked on this quest, pursuing his own variations on this theme — different lasers, different techniques for triggering fusion reactions, different elements for fusing.
“There has been rapid growth,” a said Andrew Holland, Managing Director of Fusion. Industry Association, a trade group that lobbies for policies to accelerate fusion development.
Private enterprise promises rapid innovation, but it is of a breakthrough obtained thanks to a major, expensive and heavy project. government-run project that sparked this wave of attention to laser fusion.
In December of last year, after years of testing, the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, at Lawrence Livermore The National Laboratory said it had finally lived up to its middle name: ignition. For the first time, a laser-induced fusion burst produced more energy than that provided by incoming lasers.
"We are really excited about the results of the NIF," said Kramer Akli, who manages the Inertial Fusion Energy Sciences program at the U.S. Department of Energy.
There ten years ago, a report from the National Academy of Sciences revealed a lot. appreciate the energy potential of laser fusion, but recommended that the United States suspend major investments until ignition is achieved.
This moment is came.
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