Progress reported in efforts for clean power
A breakthrough in nuclear fusion — seen as a major step in the progress toward clean power — was announced Tuesday by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration reported the achievement of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. This is seen as a major scientific breakthrough that has been decades in the making, and the Department of Energy says it will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.
On Dec. 5, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history to reach this milestone. It’s known as a scientific energy breakeven, meaning it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it.
The Department of Energy says this historic, first-of-its kind achievement will provide insights into the prospects of clean fusion energy, which the department said would be a game-changer for efforts to achieve President Joe Biden’s goal of a net-zero carbon economy.
“This monumental scientific breakthrough is a milestone for the future of clean energy,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., in a news release. “While there is more work ahead to harness the potential of fusion energy, I am proud that California scientists continue to lead the way in developing clean energy technologies. I congratulate the scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for their dedication to a clean energy future, and I am committed to ensuring they have all of the tools and funding they need to continue this important work.”
Praise also came from Jennifer M. Granholm, the U.S. secretary of energy. “This is a landmark achievement for the researchers and staff at the National Ignition Facility, who have dedicated their careers to seeing fusion ignition become a reality, and this milestone will undoubtedly spark even more discovery.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting our world-class scientists — like the team at NIF — whose work will help us solve humanity’s most complex and pressing problems, like providing clean power to combat climate change and maintaining a nuclear deterrent without nuclear testing,” Secretary Granholm said.
LLNL’s experiment surpassed the fusion threshold by delivering 2.05 megajoules of energy to the target, resulting in 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy output. In doing so, the experiment demonstrated for the first time a most fundamental science basis for inertial fusion energy, according to the Department of Energy.
The DOE said many advanced science and technology developments are still needed to achieve simple, affordable inertial fusion energy to power homes and businesses. The DOE is currently restarting a broad-based, coordinated IFE program in the U.S.
“We have had a theoretical understanding of fusion for over a century, but the journey from knowing to doing can be long and arduous. Today’s milestone shows what we can do with perseverance,” said Dr. Arati Prabhakar, the president’s chief adviser for science and technology and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Fusion is the process by which two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy. In the 1960s, a group of pioneering scientists at LLNL hypothesized that lasers could be used to induce fusion in a laboratory setting.
Led by physicist John Nuckolls, who later served as LLNL director from 1988 to 1994, this idea became inertial confinement fusion, kicking off more than 60 years of research and development in lasers, optics, diagnostics, target fabrication, computer modeling and simulation, and experimental design.
To pursue this concept, LLNL built a series of powerful laser systems, leading to the creation of NIF, the world’s largest and most energetic laser system. NIF, which is located at LLNL in Livermore in Alameda County, is the size of a sports stadium and uses powerful laser beams to create temperatures and pressures like those in the cores of stars and giant planets, and inside exploding nuclear weapons.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
