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  • Writer's pictureBailey Rawden
    • Dec 22, 2022
    • 7 min read

From Fossil to Fusion: Humanity's Next Giant Leap Towards Sustainable Energy

How harnessing the power of the sun can help brighten the future of humanity on its mission towards global decarbonisation and sustainable energy




On the 13th of December 2022, it was made public that researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National (LLN) Ignition Facility had successfully managed a breakthrough in nuclear fusion which had stumped physicists since the 1950s. Using a method called inertial confinement, the US lab successfully managed to achieve a net energy gain; a discovery which is the first scientific proof to show that nuclear fusion can produce more energy than it consumes. Although the amount of energy gained from the experiment was only enough to boil a few kettles, what it represents is of paramount significance; in an era which has seen global energy prices soar and an urgent need to move away from fossil fuels as global temperatures rise, fusion energy offers the prospect of an almost inexhaustible source of energy for future generations with zero carbon by-product emissions.


Emulating conditions parallel to that of the sun, the tolamak heart of the fusion reactor reaches temperatures of up to 150 million degrees celcius and pressures 300 billion times normally found on earth, fusing hydrogen isotopes and releasing vast amounts of energy in the process [Photo: ITER]


Fusion is the process which takes place in the heart of stars and provides the power that drives the universe (CCFE, 2022). It involves the nuclei of lighter elements fusing to form a heavier nucleus which causes a vast burst of energy to be released in the process. In order to harness the power of fusion on earth, hydrogen isotopes, deuterium and tritium, are heated to 150 million degrees celsius, becoming an electrically charged gas called plasma which is then confined in a doughnut shape called tokamak which is then controlled with strong magnetic fields. Normally fusion is not possible because of the strong repulsive electrostatic forces between the positively charged nuclei which prevent them from getting close enough to collide, yet researchers have been able to create temperature and pressure conditions 300 billion times normally experienced on earth which have enabled the deuterium and tritium to fuse together, producing helium and high speed neutrons as a result. The energy release from such a reaction is 10 million times more, per kilogram of fuel, than what can be released by burning fossil fuels. (National Geographic, 2022). An alternative way to produce fusion energy is via inertial confinement fusion (ICF), which is the method implemented at the LLN laboratory which led to the breakthrough. During the ICF process, a tiny solid pellet of deuterium-tritium (D-T) is compressed to an extreme density and temperature rivalling that of the Sun by 192 laser beams (Britannica, 2022). During the reaction at the LLN, 2.1 mega-joules of energy were inputted by the laser drivers, producing 2.5 mega-joules of energy; a 20% net gain. (Financial Times, 2022) Although analysis still is ongoing, plasma physicist Dr Turnell of Imperial College London believes “we are witnessing a moment of history”


US Department of Energy makes history announcing that a major breakthrough in fusion ignition had been achieved; a feat considered impossible for over 70 years, which will help pave the way for further advances in clean power [Photo:IrishTimes]


Fusion energy boasts a plethora of benefits as a source of energy, but its most crucial characteristic is the fact that it produces no carbon emissions. Power generation accounts for approximately 30% of the global CO2 emissions (McKinsey, 2022) and to abide by the standards imposed by the Paris Agreement of a pledge to decarbonise by 2050, many governments are in the process of transitioning away from traditional fossil fuels. Fusion could offer itself as a sustainable alternative, with the only by-product of the fusion reaction being small amounts of helium, an inert gas which can be safely released without causing major harm to the environment. The fuel used in fusion, deuterium, can be extracted from water and tritium can be produced from lithium, both elements are in abundance on earth and can be extracted from the earth’s crust and seawater, with such supplies able to last for thousands, if not millions of years (Guardian, 2022). In terms of energy efficiency, this is also something which fusion fuel does better than most energy substitutes; one gram of fusion fuel has the potential to produce the same amount of energy as 10 million kilograms of fossil fuel. Estimates by CCFE also conclude that a standard 1GWh fusion power station will require less than a single tonne of fuel during an entire year of operation. It is also relatively safe compared to standard fission power generation as the amounts of fuel used in the reaction are minuscule, roughly the size of a postage stamp, which ensures that there is no risk of a runaway reaction which could lead to a meltdown like seen at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma (ITER, 2022).


For Fusion energy, unlike its nuclear counterpart, a Fukashima-esque meltdown is impossible due to the difficulty in reaching and maintaining necessary conditions; any potential disturbances and the will plasma cool within seconds. [Photo: TowardFreedom]


This is not to say this promising new energy source is flawless, however. Although it is much safer than nuclear power in the sense that meltdowns aren’t possible and there is no radioactive waste by-product, that is not true for the reactor component which becomes radioactive during the reaction. The concern over the possible release of tritium into the environment is something which needs to be addressed as scientists further their development of fusion energy as such a radioactive by-product is extremely difficult to contain as it has the propensity to penetrate concrete, rubber and select grades of steel. Such a radioactive hydrogen isotope can easily become incorporated in water supplies, a health threat which can last up to 125 years due to its half-life (CCFE, 2022). It can also be inhaled or even absorbed through the skin which spreads through soft tissue. The cost of tritium also remains a large burden to the acceleration of fusion progress, with a single gram costing upwards of $30,000, therefore the future of nuclear fusion relies heavily on tritium breeding in order to obtain vast quantities at a much lower cost. Economics expert Prof. Werner Antweiller Ph.D and CEO of Helion, David Kirtley, suggest a way to potentially bypass the tritium tension would be to move alternative fusion cycle; D-D process, which would be a cheaper, easier to fuel and easier to operate. (Science, 2022).



The health of Planet Earth, and the sustainable economic prosperity of billions of its inhabitants, lay in the hands of further scientific breakthroughs in fusion helping in the quest to develop cheap and clean energy source for all mankind. [Photo: The Lancet]


In order to develop into a commercially viable, clean source of renewable energy, fusion needs to address these issues in its development. Fusion positions itself in the market as being ‘clean, CO2 free, safe, unlimited’, however these are the expected minimum criteria for fuel sources which will be adopted in the new energy system set by the Paris Agreement in its pursuit of sustainable energy. Fusion needs to identify which characteristics fill specific needs in the system before it becomes commercially viable. Even with all potential pitfalls of fusion covered up, the roadmap to when we will see fusion used for commercial purposes remains foggy due to the impossibility of predicting how further economic, political and technological developments will pan out, although a critical paper of fusion proposed by the Royal Society outlines 4 phases of development fusion must enter before it becomes widely adopted. (1) Basic research and Development, (2) 100MW to 100GW: Exponential Growth, (3) Linear Growth and (4) Final market saturation. Following the breakthrough at LNN, fusion still remains in its first phase but given the billions of dollars of investment being pumped into experimentation in order to try and repeat and refine such results, fusion may be on the verge of entering the next stage sooner than forecasted. Such investment is being made attractive by generous subsidies by federal governments, yet it still has large risks attached to it; the performance of the first generation of power plants are most likely to be substandard performers, suffer from a lack of availability, prone to power outages and have a low plant efficiency (Royal Society, 2018). Add the extreme amount of upfront capital investment required, which the Royal Society paper estimates to be in the thousands of billions, crossing such a ‘valley of death’ over the next 50 years will be crucial in humanity’s journey toward cleaner and cheaper energy for all. Given that the health of Planet Earth and the prosperity of the human race depend such an energy source being synthesised, such an economic burden seem dwarfed in comparison to the potential consequences that could ensue if we continue to rely on fossil fuels and the (currently) largely inefficient renewables.


The road towards commercially viable fusion energy is not a linear one. It offers us a risky route filled with potholes, heavy congestion and extortionate toll taxes that offer only a glimmer of light at the end of the destination, yet thanks to the developments at the LNN facilities, we now know for certain that such a destination in the future exists at all. Reducing our dependence on carbon-emitting fossil fuels does not need to be stressed more, it is already a commonplace paradigm in today's developed society, yet the prospect of fusion energy and harnessing the power of the Sun is an achievement that needs time to settle in the consciousness of the current generation and those forthcoming. We need to now acknowledge that the science is truly possible and it is a top priority of global governments to raise awareness of the potential opportunities this brings; where there is money to be made, investment will be sure to follow. As more capital pours into its research and development, greater methodological refineries will be made, greater improvements will enhance the efficiency of fusion as a viable source, and we will make further steps along an incalculable road, a road which offers the prospect to change the world as radically as the industrial revolution. The destination may not rear its head in our lifetime, but one thing this new discovery has given us for certain, in such a time of economic and geopolitical uncertainty, is hope.


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