Fusion Power (Sebastian)
Description:
“Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors.” Source: Fusion power - Wikipedia
Enablers:
1. Breakthrough in the technology needed. 2. Clean source of energy with CO2 emissions 3. Very limited nuclear waste (compared to nuclear power) 4. Very low costs of energy production. “Economists suggest that fusion energy cost increases by $16.5/ MWh for every $1 billion increase in the price of fusion technology. This high Levelized cost of energy is largely a result of construction costs.” This is less than solar or wind (compared to photovoltaic: $40-$46/MWh, on shore: $29-$56/MWh) 5. No catastrophic meltdown possible (compared to nuclear) 6. Fusion could supply the world's energy needs for millions of years. 7. Start-ups are getting funding of 2.5 billion USD
Source: Fusion power - Wikipedia
Inhibitors:
1. Very large investments needed in order to build a fusion reactor. Over 30 billion Euro have been spent already on research and investment by the EU and ITER, without having a fully running fusion reactor. 2. There has been no commercially successful project by 2021, even though the research about fusion power started in the 1960s 3. Disruption of the current power generation industry and resistance from the industry 4. Needs fuel to be powered
Paradigms:
Due to its cheap source of energy, it can disrupt all existing technologies. Even solar and wind power, which are currently the cheapest source of power, are more expensive than fusion power.
Experts:
Powering the Future: Fusion & Plasmas. Washington: Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences. 2021. pp. ii.
Timing:
The technology is still under development. There has been no commercially successful project by 2021, even though the research about fusion power started in the 1960s. The future timeline is unclear.