Fusion Energy Breakthrough: FIA applauds scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for record fusion results
Washington, D.C. – The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) today released a statement applauding the recent breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). For the first time on Earth, scientists have confirmed a fusion energy experiment released more power than it takes to initiate, proving the physical basis for fusion energy. This will lead fusion to be a safe and sustainable energy source in the near future.
The FIA and its 30 member companies applaud the scientists who have been working to achieve this breakthrough result for decades. Now, the privately funded fusion industry will take the next steps, turning experimental results like this into a viable source of clean, safe energy. FIA Members are working now to get pilot fusion power plants producing electricity within a decade.
“Today's announcement shows the world that fusion is not science fiction: it will soon be a viable source of energy,” said Andrew Holland, CEO of the FIA. “There are still many steps between these experimental results and fusion power plants, but this is an important milestone for fusion.”
“This will give governments around the world further incentive to support the development of commercial fusion energy. It also shows that now is the time to establish regulatory regimes which both protect the public and encourage innovation. The FIA and our member companies will continue to meet milestones and drive rapid increases in fusion investment, while supporting efforts to increase interest from governments around the world.”
More Details about the Breakthrough
On December 5, the National Ignition Facility (NIF), an experimental facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, produced 3.15 megajoules of energy, breaking their record set in August 2021. This experimental result proved, for the first time ever, that a controlled fusion reaction could release more energy than was applied to the lasers, producing about 150% of the 2.1 megajoules of energy in the lasers. More detail is available from the Department of Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
About Fusion Energy
Fusion is the power of the sun: when brought to extreme temperatures and pressures, atoms collide and “fuse” releasing huge amounts of energy in the process, as expressed in Einstein’s famous equation, E=MC2. This means that even small amounts of fuel have a huge amount of intrinsic energy; fusion releases that intrinsic energy.
Fusion energy will be safe, clean, abundant, and sustainable. When commercialized, fusion will be widely available and clean, with a single gram of fuel yielding up to 90 megawatt hours of energy, with no greenhouse gases or atmospheric pollution. It produces no long-lived radioactive waste, cannot meltdown, and will be a zero-carbon climate solution.
About the FIA
The FIA is the unified voice of the fusion industry, with 30 member companies all working to transform the energy system by producing commercially viable fusion power. Today, over $5 billion in private capital has been invested in companies working to commercialize fusion power.
