A fusion experiment has passed the ‘energy breakeven point’ for the first time in history. This achievement meant that the fusion reaction created more energy than was used to sustain it.
The experiment took place at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Although a critical milestone, the amount of energy created was still small, at about 1 KWh, about enough energy to run a toaster for an hour. It was therefore much less than the total energy used to set up the experiment.
A spokesperson for the laboratory said, “LLNL’s experiment surpassed the fusion threshold by delivering 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of energy to the target, resulting in 3.15 MJ of fusion energy output, demonstrating for the first time a most fundamental science basis for inertial fusion energy.
“Many advanced science and technology developments are still needed to achieve simple, affordable IFE to power homes and businesses, and DOE is currently restarting a broad-based, coordinated IFE program in the United States. Combined with private-sector investment, there is a lot of momentum to drive rapid progress toward fusion commercialisation.”
US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm added, “This is a landmark achievement for the researchers and staff at the National Ignition Facility who have dedicated their careers to seeing fusion ignition become a reality, and this milestone will undoubtedly spark even more discovery.”
“[This] work will help us solve humanity’s most complex and pressing problems, like providing clean power to combat climate change.”
Fusion is the process by which two light nuclei combine to form a single heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy. In the 1960s, a group of pioneering scientists at LLNL hypothesised that lasers could be used to induce fusion in a laboratory setting.
To pursue this concept, LLNL built a series of increasingly powerful laser systems, leading to the creation of NIF, the world’s largest and most energetic laser system. It has used powerful laser beams to create temperatures and pressures significantly higher than those in the cores of stars and giant planets to achieve these results.
