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    The US led on nuclear fusion for decades. Now China is in position to win the race
    Futurology

    The US led on nuclear fusion for decades. Now China is in position to win the race

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    33 Comments

    1. Gari_305 on

      From the article

      >The [bustling city of Shanghai](https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/15/weather/china-shanghai-typhoon-bebinca-intl-hnk) marks national celebrations with world-famous light shows, illuminating its skyscrapers with dazzling colors, like beacons of Chinese innovation.

      >It is here that scientists and engineers work around the clock to pursue the next big thing in global tech, from 6G internet and advanced AI to next-generation robotics. It’s also here, on an unassuming downtown street, a small start-up called Energy Singularity is working on something extraordinary: nuclear fusion energy.

      >US companies and industry experts are worried America is losing its decades-long lead in the race to master this near-limitless form of clean energy, as new fusion companies sprout across China, and Beijing outspends DC.

      >Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and other stars, is painstakingly finicky to replicate on Earth. Many countries have achieved fusion reactions, but sustaining them for long enough to use in the real world remains elusive.

      >Mastering fusion is an enticing prospect that promises wealth and global influence to whichever country tames it first.

    2. I_T_Gamer on

      Nuclear Fusion has the potential to positively change the world. Who does it first is irrelevant IMO.

    4. GrowFreeFood on

      We’re all trapped on a sphere in space. There’s no winning. We’re all cousins. Politics is not a game no matter how hard we want it to be.

    5. CasedUfa on

      If you don’t like it spend more on R&D. Oh, China is subsidizing a transition to green technology, we must have tariffs. No, raise your game.

    6. Space_Wizard_Z on

      No they aren’t. They aren’t *at all* this is propaganda. Just like China having a moon base by 2035. Not happening.

    7. stokeytrailer on

      The US is too worried about drag queens, immigrants eating pets, rainbows, Bud Light, books, gays and so on to be worried about socialist fusion. /s

    8. souliris on

      Just 20 more years. for the last 50. Fusion will go nowhere until the billionaires are desperate for electricity. Then they will have a magic “break though”. But until then, it’s still 20 years out. They are still making record profits on oil/coal(aka burning crap)

    9. Doc_Bader on

      The funny thing is that fusion is probably going to take so long, that by the time it’s viable the whole world will simply run on renewables + batteries.

    11. 0biwanCannoli on

      I built a nuclear fusion reactor in my basement in Canada 10 years ago because I was board. We don’t have to worry about China. 😉

    12. bpsavage84 on

      Why is everything “a race” when it comes to America / China?

      Like… China is beating the US to the moon! Except… the US has been there since 50 years ago or w/e so who cares?

      So what if China progresses? Why is American media always making it sound like it will be the end of the world if China leads in certain fields?

    15. Better_Pen_8299 on

      I don’t think a single country wins the race. Luckily China is still sharing scientific papers on improving fusion reactors. And hopefully they will keep sharing scientific papers after fusion reactors are made stable.

      If they make a fusion reactor stable. (Big if). Either the US Gov or a company in the US will spend billions on recruiting the scientists behind the reactor.

      Like the Manhattan project. Brain drain has historically affected the countries opposing the US.

      China and Russia like to hype up their abilities. US and other nato countries like to undersell theirs.

    17. neuroticnetworks1250 on

      “CHINA IS COLLAPSING”

      “CHINA WILL RULE THE WORLD”

      Sums up half the article headlines these days. And I don’t blame them. This sub barely generates any clicks unless there is ground for geopolitical shit slinging

    18. SatyrSatyr75 on

      Sometimes it seems as if most people really have no clue how bad the situation in China is at the moment.

    21. tgosubucks on

      Competition is good but to characterize this development as a peer is disingenuous.

      The United States is still the only country that has gone beyond viability to optimization in working assets.

      Big difference between paper and operation.

    23. Beneficial-Hall-6050 on

      SPARC. MIT 20 Tesla magnets. If you haven’t heard of either of these and you are still saying fusion is 50 years away you haven’t been paying attention.

      I actually saw a comment from someone in here that said China isn’t leading because Europe has ITER.

      Hahaha ITER? Imagine being so ignorant to the science of fusion that you still believe ITER is significant

    25. cjboffoli on

      Fusion energy would be a win for MANKIND not any respective country. If one considers the volume of air pollution emanating from China, we all win when that pollution is curtailed or stopped.

    27. Mtbruning on

      We haven’t led. We have ensured that the promise of abundant cheap energy is always 20 years away. Close enough for government funding but too far away to be practical.

    28. Abridged6251 on

      The US has a lead on nuclear fusion? Nobody has managed to create net energy from it, I’d say we are all collectively still at zero until we accomplish that.

    30. Mygaffer on

      If China wants to waste billions pursuing something we don’t even know we can do in an efficient and cost effective manner here on Earth they should go for it.

    31. Hailtothething on

      US is shooting themselves in the foot with regulatory glut. It’s almost like they want to lose.