Billions in private cash is flooding into fusion power. Will it pay off? – Some companies are now making aggressive claims to start supplying power commercially within a few years.
https://theconversation.com/billions-in-private-cash-is-flooding-into-fusion-power-will-it-pay-off-266354
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From the article
Why has this happened? There are several drivers: increasing urgency for carbon-free power, advances in technology and understanding such as new materials and control methods using artificial intelligence (AI), a growing ecosystem of private-sector companies, and a wave of capital from tech billionaires. This comes on the back of demonstrated progress in theory and experiments in fusion science.
Also from the article
One such design is the privately owned Commonwealth Fusion System’s [SPARC tokamak](https://cfs.energy/technology/sparc), which has attracted some US$3 billion in investment. SPARC was designed using sophisticated simulations of how plasma behaves, many of which now use AI to speed up calculations. AI may also be used to control the plasma during operations.
Another company, Type I Energy, is pursuing [a design called a stellarator](https://typeoneenergy.com/our-technology/), which uses a complex asymmetric system of coils to produce a twisted magnetic field. In addition to high-temperature superconductors and advanced manufacturing techniques, Type I Energy uses high-performance computing to optimally design machines for maximum performance.
[Both](https://news.mit.edu/2024/commonwealth-fusion-systems-unveils-worlds-first-fusion-power-plant-1217)Â %5Bcompanies%5D(https://spectrum.ieee.org/stellarator)Â claim they will roll out commercial fusion power by the mid-2030s.
In the United Kingdom, a government-sponsored industry partnership is pursuing the [Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production](https://stepfusion.com/what-is-step/), a prototype fusion pilot plant proposed for completion by 2040.
Good luck only coming close to the [**EROI**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_return_on_investment) of renewable energy, especially solar energy which already is based on fusion.
Compared to the AI bubble this is chump change. How much is going to be spent by private companies trying to colonise off world in the same time window?
It’s literally a side bet to the people putting the money in.
Fusion power is not an answer.
Firstly, it ain’t happening. Edit: fusion power has been “just a couple of years away” since the 70s
Secondly, our freshwater supplies are already strained by corporate bullshit like crypto and AI datacentres, and we can’t drink helium.
Fusion is useful to a society that deserves it, but for our greed-driven exploitative system, it’s just the fossil fuels of tomorrow.
“Some companies are now making ~~aggressive~~ ***unrealistic*** claims…”
Build better AI, and it will take us into the future for sure. I think AGI goal is a better investment. Only which AI company will succeed, that’s the real gamble. Good ole capitalism will someday take us into true communism. I can’t wait!!!
i have been trained for 40 years to dismiss such claims as BS. Which is sad.
Not for nothing, but there’s nothing wrong with nuclear fission. We are now in our fifth generation of fission reactors, and with a 3 stage fuel cycle it makes fusion kind of superfluous. Yeah it would be nice, but we’re already leaving an obvious solution on the table.
This won’t be the next bubble setup ? The US is only growing off AI at the moment. Right ?
I mean I think it’s very clear that fusion power is the future and is the only true solution for fully replacing fossils. IMO nuclear should be a much bigger priority than solar or wind.
Can’t wait for that almost free and unlimited power to cost a lot just cause.