Davos, Switzerland — Fusion energy — a clean baseload energy source — will be a real game-changer for the energy supply around the world once the many technology challenges are overcome, Kimberly Budil, American Physicist and Director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, told TRENDS in an exclusive interview.
During her interaction, she focused on the recent breakthrough in inertial confinement fusion, which is a way of producing fusion energy by squeezing a small pellet to very high temperature intensities. The laboratory was able to produce more fusion energy from the reactions than the laser energy they put in, which is a significant milestone in the development of fusion energy as a viable energy source. Beside Budil, 8,000 other engineers, physicists, chemists and materials scientists were involved in it.
However, Budil noted that it will take at least a couple of decades to fully realize the potential of this technology, and that public-private partnerships will be critical in moving it forward.
Excerpts:
Please explain the recent discovery in Inertial confinement fusion in layman’s terms. What it means for the future?
In early December, we conducted an experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California on Inertial confinement fusion, which is a way of producing fusion energy by squeezing a small pallet about the size of a BB to very high temperature intensities to start the fusion reactions. We were able to produce more fusion energy from the reactions than the laser energy we put in, which is a significant milestone in the development of fusion energy as a viable energy source. However, it is important to note that we have not achieved call energy break even for a new energy source yet. We need to put in megajoules of laser energy to get a little more than 3 MJ of fusion energy out. Nonetheless, this demonstration has shown that the fundamental building block for a fusion energy source based on this approach has been achieved, and we can now start thinking about how to take the technology forward with a fusion energy application in mind.
What may happen in the long term with this technology, taking into account private sector and government investments?
Over the next decade, the focus will be on making these targets more efficient and simpler, so that it can be more economical to make and raise the game. We need to get a few hundred times more fusion energy out than laser energy in, and start developing the technology we need for a fusion power plant approach. It will probably take at least a couple of decades to fully realize the potential of this, depending on how much time and money is invested. We need partners in the private sector who can think about the ultimate power application. While my laboratory will continue working on the science and physics of the target, we are not going to design and build a power plant. Therefore, we are trying to build new types of public-private partnerships, which is really important. The public funding has been stable and long-term, which has allowed us to make progress over many decades and build the infrastructure needed for the technology. No startup company would be able to build such infrastructure, but they will be able to leverage the work we are doing as they develop the technology.
How do you feel about changes in government and the effect it has on your work and funding?
This administration in the US launched a decade-long vision for fusion energy earlier this year, so the support for the energy application is quite good. The support for the science that we have been doing has been consistent throughout different administrations, as the scientific knowledge has many applications. I feel confident that we will be able to continue our scientific path. In general, there is big support for public-private partnerships, and if we are able to forge good partnerships, the government will be willing to ensure that the things the public sector does very well, such as research and fundamental studies of materials, will continue.
In the next 30 or 40 years, if everything goes well, could fusion energy potentially be used to provide electricity to cities and utilized by applications like cryptocurrencies?
Yes, fusion energy is a clean baseload energy source. Unlike fission energy, it does not generate the same kind of long-lived nuclear waste. Once we are able to overcome the many technology challenges, it would be a real game-changer for the energy supply around the world. However, there are still many hurdles to overcome before we can see widespread use of fusion energy.