Nuclear Fusion is the ‘Perfect Energy Source’
A recent article by Steven Cowley, Director of the Culham Center for Fusion Energy in the UK, makes the case for funding fusion research. He says that in order to preserve our current energy prosperity, we must begin to invest in alternative energy sources. Fusion power in the most promising because it is clean, safe, and virtually unlimited. While there are many challenges to harnessing fusion power for energy, he describes the progress being made with the ITER project in southern France. Sufficient funding for ITER must continue to occur because the knowledge gained from the experiment can help us further develop fusion power. From the article:
But what about our second objective of economic viability? ITER isn’t meant to achieve that goal. In addition to clearing our last remaining scientific hurdle, we need to advance a parallel engineering agenda into key reactor technologies that will enable commercial fusion power plants to reliably deliver electricity in a highly competitive market. This means technological advances in areas such as structural and functional materials, power conversion, and reliability. China and Korea are on the job but the U.S. and Europe are reluctant to face the engineering issues. Certainly, cost increases on ITER haven’t helped. If we continue to starve the technological research agenda of funds, however, we risk delaying fusion power and ceding technological leadership to China and Korea.
To read the full article, click here.
