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Page added on December 11, 2013
Fusion Power — it is real, possible and important, and it’s time to get serious
On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 the American Security Project hosted the first day of the 34th Annual Fusion Power Associates Conference. Entitled “Fusion Energy: Visions for the Future,” the conference featured participation from some of the world’s top fusion scientists.
Particular highlights included Dr. Osamu Motajima, the Director General of the ITER Organization. Since 2010, Dr. Motajima has led ITER in its efforts to build a ‘burning plasma’ fusion reactor in Cadarache, France. Motajima talked about the importance of creating a ‘project culture’ around the program in order to bring construction back onto schedule. The ITER project is a 7 nation treaty-based collaboration between the EU, the US, Russia, China, India, Japan, and South Korea. Dr. Ned Sauthoff, the Director of the US contribution to ITER underscored that the US remains on budget, but does face future budget challenges.
Also presenting were John Edwards of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, who discussed the breakthroughs in inertial fusion research ongoing at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Dr. Steve Obenschain of the US Naval Research Laboratory, Dr. Robert McCrory, and others talked about progress and pathways to inertial fusion (using lasers) outside of NIF’s approach.
There were a series of presentations about how to build a roadmap to developing a demonstration fusion energy power plant. Dr. Yuanxi Wan presented the Chinese roadmap to fusion energy — his presentation showed how aggressive China is in its efforts to develop their Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). Representatives from the EU, Japan, and South Korea detailed their national roadmaps. Speaking for the U.S. magnetic fusion program, representatives like Dr. Stewart Prager and Dr. Dale Meade of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory spoke about how the U.S. lacks a defined roadmap, but that the scientists should “fight for” an aggressive program of development — even though they are not currently on such a path. Presenters talked about the need to develop technologies that have “breakout potential” so that, if and when policymakers decide that fusion is important, the scientists will be ready to expand rapidly.
ASP’s Senior Fellow for Energy and Climate, Andrew Holland, finished the day with a call to action, saying that fusion is real, possible, and important. He underscored that the reason that fusion has not achieved its promise is not because the scientists have “over promised” — it is because policymakers have consistently failed in their side of the bargain. They have not invested the necessary resources to achieve fusion’s promise.
Clink on these links to find out more about fusion power and ASP’s 10 year Plan for Energy Security
14 Comments on "Fusion Power — it is real, possible and important, and it’s time to get serious"
BillT on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 12:51 am
Another propaganda rag run by the government through it’s shills. The Board of Directors are all Ex government, military, financial or MSM people. If you could check, I bet you would find that it is funded by your tax dollars and the financial services represented.
As for commercial fusion power; not in your lifetime or mine.
mo on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 1:59 am
We’ve heard this for years and years, just around the corner, please throw more money
DC on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 2:10 am
Yes, just who is ‘Amerikan Security Project’ anyhow? Look like the usual crowd of US military thugs, pet ‘academics’ with important sounding titles, but no real responsibilities or jobs even. Even if fusion were do-able today, I fail to see how it would make amerika, ‘secure’. Amerika had, and still has to some extent, near total control over world flows and prices for energy for most of a century. Subsidized and plentiful cheap energy didnt make amerika secure? How will slow, expensive and non-existent fusion help improve the situation any?
Hint: the pic of a amerikan APC on the webpage and tweets by Paul Ryan are a bit of a give-away. This ‘source’ is long on US imperialism cheerleading, but basically science free.
Beery on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 3:30 am
Fusion is real and important, and even possible… if you have a sun to generate it.
Personally, I’m not sure I ever want to see a nuclear fusion reactor working on Earth. What the human race needs for its survival is LESS power, not more. If we keep on pumping heat into the atmosphere, we won’t be long for this world.
Dave Thompson on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 7:02 am
Humanity needs to figure out what to do with the 400 plus nukes scattered around the planet before any of this new technology is implemented.
J-Gav on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 9:47 am
One more time for the record: Even if they do get the tech right on fusion some day, there isn’t enough money in the known universe to scale it up and build it out.
sunweb on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 10:02 am
I was so concerned we would not find additional ways to trash the planet and deal with new unintended consequences. What would life be like without sliced white bread and very big machines. Livable???
Norm on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 11:00 am
Its time. I will apply for work with the fusion researchers…. get me a high paying government research job… so i can keep buying gasoline for my car till it all runs out !!!
Terry Mcnamie on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 11:28 am
I Don’t disagree with the title to this article at all.
Yes the Sun is real
Yes the Sun is possible
Yes the sun is important
Fusions scientists need to get a real job to be honest. They’re are a waste of space at the moment. It’s like me getting a job as a “for hire” planet explorer and then complaining when I can’t get a Job. DON’T THEY KNOW HOW IMPORTANT MY JOB IS! WHY AREN’T THEY HIRING ME!!!
Northwest Resident on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 4:32 pm
OK, let’s say they can build a fusion power plant today — they have the technology. How many billions will each one cost? How many thousands of employees will need to be trained to build each one and operate it? Where are they going to put it? How are they going to hook it up to the power grid? You’re going to need a few thousand of those fusion power plants just for starters, built right next to the coal or nuclear power plants that they are replacing, otherwise you’re going to have to run a million miles of thick cable under or over ground just to hook the shiney new fusion power plant up to the existing grid. Or, more likely, next the TPTB will propagandize us with is that along with is that they’ve invented remote wireless power transmitters that will be installed with the fusion power plants.
TPTB — always pumping out the false hope to sustain the illusion of BAU forever. It is the new religion, the new faith, the opiate for the masses.
Bob Inget on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 5:16 pm
Looks like from comments we are in a state of confusion.
george on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 5:16 pm
live long and prosper – lmao
J-Gav on Wed, 11th Dec 2013 10:32 pm
Bob – I don’t see a lot of confusion in my comment. Do you, or are you just pretending to, or are you referring to someone else? This is not a confused issue at all. It’s simple – it will never happen.
Bob Owens on Thu, 12th Dec 2013 1:47 am
I’ve said it before and will say it again: If they had spent every Fusion dollar on solar hot water heaters every business and residence in the world would now be powered by the fusion of the sun! It would not be a dream. We would have a robust, non-radioactive, paid-for, fault-tolerant system run by free fuel!