Energy transition series – Nuclear fusion: the road from dream to reality is long, very long!

Paris Tech February 23rd, 2015 Rising energy consumption round the world, rarefaction of fossil energy sources, climate change, the necessary reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions… The development of new and renewable energy sectors, emitting few or zero GHGs has become primordial. Faced with this inevitable energy transition phase, nuclear fusion could be justified, provided … Read more

Smaller fusion reactors could deliver big gains

physicsworld.com Feb 16, 2015 Hot topic: size may not be everything in tokamak design Researchers from the UK firm Tokamak Energy say that future fusion reactors could be made much smaller than previously envisaged – yet still deliver the same energy output. That claim is based on calculations showing that the fusion power gain – … Read more

Lockheed Martin claims to be “restarting the atomic age” with a compact fusion reactor

AIP Scitation Steven T. Corneliussen, October 2014 “The old promise of atoms for peace was a noble one, but ultimately flawed because the technology wasn’t right for it,” declares Thomas McGuire in a 4-minute public relations video. He leads a fusion energy project at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, famous for originating, among other things, the … Read more

Lockheed Martin’s 100 MW Compact Fusion Nuclear Reactor

IHS Global Spec Roger Pink, Ph.D., 16 December 2014 A Lockheed Martin Skunk Works team is working on a compact fusion reactor (CFR) that could be developed and deployed in as little as 10 years. The lead scientist on the project, Thomas McGuire, said in an October 15 press release that the company’s compact fusion … Read more

Are mini fusion power plants possible?

Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics October 23, 2014 Lockheed Martin’s compact reactor concept / fusion drives for aircraft and trucks? The magnetic coils inside of the compact fusion experiment are critical to plasma containment. Photo: Lockheed Martin Building a small, transportable fusion power plant has long been a dream of fusion researchers. In the … Read more

The Bridge to Fusion: 4 Advanced Nuclear Fission Technologies

Popular Mechanics Thorium This radioactive metal is three to four times more common than uranium, and, unlike uranium, it doesn’t generate weapons-grade nuclear material after it’s burned in a reactor. (The United Stated experimented with thorium reactors as early as the 1950s, before the element lost out to uranium.) Virginia-based Lightbridge aims to capitalize on … Read more

The MFTF-B story – Fusion or conFusion?

Last Tech Age 2013/03/26 The $1 billion MFTF-B fusion experiment was built, then dismantled before it was turned on — our first sign of the politicization of fusion. Energy independence should be an issue important to everyone. Instead, it has been a political issue in and out of the news for many years. MFTF-B was … Read more

Fusion Energy – Kill the beast

the Last Tech Age 2012/02/29 Fusion research will yield nothing if current U.S. “starve research” policy is continued. Fusion development must fail under this self justifying strategy. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory got all its parameters lined up in a row and fired away. Their target did not implode to … Read more

Tech firm aims to ‘save the world’ with nuclear reactor

The Globe and Mail Last updated Thursday, Feb. 05 2015, 10:46 AM EST Michel Laberge, the founder and chief scientist of General Fusion, sits in front of a prototype fusion reactor built at General Fusion in Burnaby. (BEN NELMS/REUTERS) General Fusion’s plan to rescue Earth from the calamity of global warming involves an ironic feat … Read more

Successful Development of a New Catalyst for Efficiently Collecting Tritium in Nuclear Fusion Reactors

Japan Atomic Energy Agency January 08, 2015 Japan Atomic Energy Agency Tanaka Precious Metals Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. – World Record efficiency achieved; this breakthrough is predicted to solve nuclear fusion reactor technological issues – [Key achievements] Establishment of a method of manufacturing a new catalyst for collecting tritium required for nuclear fusion reactor fuel. … Read more