Nuclear fusion reactor that creates "clean" energy by replicating processes in the Sun could produce electricity in a DECADE, experts say
A tennis-court-sized nuclear fusion reactor under development in the United States could be producing electrical energy within a decade. The SPARC nuclear fusion reactor, a joint project involving the Institute of Technology of Massachusetts, should begin construction on June 21 next year and take three or four years to complete.
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The SPARC nuclear fusion reactor is expected to demonstrate energy gain from fusion for the first time in history by 2025, and is producing fusion power to generate electricity to power nearby cities within 10 years.
How nuclear reactor can fight climate change
The nuclear fusion reactor could eventually tackle climate change by replacing energy sources that emit greenhouse gases like coal and gas. Fusion also provides cheap, clean and safe energy without radioactive waste or the risk of meltdown.
Breaking new ground in the world of technology
SPARC will pave the way for the first commercially viable nuclear fusion power plant, called ARC. MIT said that limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic had only slightly slowed progress on the SPARC, and researchers are back in the labs under new operating guidelines.
"The work is progressing smoothly and on track," said MIT, which is working with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) of Cambridge, Mass., on the SPARC.
The MIT team proposes that this substance is continuously regenerated by the fusion reaction itself. But Jassby believes this will require a huge amount of electricity, which will make the reactor prohibitively expensive. “When you consider that we get solar and wind energy for free, relying on the fusion reaction would be foolish,” he said.
