Scientists and officials with the Department of Energy on Tuesday were expected to announce a breakthrough in the creation of fusion energy at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NBC News has confirmed.
Referred to as the “fusion dream,” it would be a big first step, they say, toward weaning the world off fossil fuels: Lasers used to create a nuclear fusion reaction that produces clean energy.
Officials say it’s a huge breakthrough in producing an endless supply of clean, cheap power without radioactive waste or fossil fuel emissions.
“This is a hurrah moment for humanity!” said Michl Binderbauer CEO of TAE Technologies. “It’s going to create the backbone of stable, reliable power 24/7 to drive that entire ecosystem of electrified things.”
Scientists say, once fully developed, nuclear fusion could power entire cities and the batteries inside our cars. But that could take a decade or more.
“If we had fusion, we could drop fossil fuels immediately and forever, right. It would be game over, we would have all the energy we needed, more than all the energy we needed,” said Adam Frank, astrophysics professor with the University of Rochester.
It will take time to develop the massive fusion power plants that would power entire cities, officials say, but they’ve made the breakthrough discovery to start the process.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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