As we approach the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, there seems to be renewed media interest in nuclear fusion as a possible energy source that could be used to reach the decarbonization goals that the world is striving towards.
Here are some example articles:
New York Times: Nuclear Fusion Edges towards the Mainstream https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/business/fusion-energy.html
New Yorker: “Can Nuclear Fusion put the Brakes on Climate Change”?
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/10/11/can-nuclear-fusion-put-the-brakes-on-climate-change
Gizmodo: “The Marathon Race Toward Fusion Power Could Be Reaching a Sprint”
https://gizmodo.com/the-marathon-race-toward-fusion-power-could-be-reaching-1847751952
Yahoo News: “5 questions for Arthur Turrell on fusion energy”
https://news.yahoo.com/5-questions-arthur-turrell-fusion-110000706.html
The Economist: “The Race to Build a Commercial Fusion Rector Hots Up”
https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/06/24/the-race-to-build-a-commercial-fusion-reactor-hots-up
Media articles on nuclear fusion all tend to focus on similar aspects of the field: It is a “star in a bottle” with the potential to provide unlimited clean energy for the planet; there are major technical challenges that need to be overcome, but progress is being made; there are various startup companies and government projects working on these challenges; more money is needed to reach the finish line; a demonstration plant is projected to be built in x number of years’ time; after that we might see commercial plants in operation.
It does not seem that the killer breakthrough has been made yet, but there are people working in the field with a lot of hope.
In my mind, everything and more that these teams are working towards has already been achieved by Andrea Rossi with his E-Cat, but that’s another story, and something that there is no media interest in at the moment.
