New projects around the world are bringing us ever closer to the dream of achieving commercially viable fusion power.
A new consortium of Canadian researchers and fusion companies have launched a project called Fusion 2030 which they claim will be able to build a viable fusion power plant by 2030.
Including the University of Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan, the Canadian Nuclear Society, and private companies like General Fusion, the Fusion 2030 project aims to share research in order to promote faster development of the technology.
“We’re all learning from each other,” said Dr Michel Laberge from General Fusion. “The potential benefits of fusion energy are so significant that it’s crucial that we all work together.”
Fusion 2030 believes with just a mere CA$125mn ($96mn) of investment it can deliver on its aims within this comparatively short time frame.
By contrast, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which was previously the largest planned, and most promising fusion energy project in the world, has a price tag in the billions, and will not begin full operation until 2035.
While the technical hurdles for the Fusion 2030 project to overcome are immense, recent years have seen significant and promising advances in the field of fusion power.
Most notably, the National Ignition Facility in the US has seen significant successes without using the popular donut-shaped ‘Tokamak’ designs.
Their approach, using high-powered lasers to generate the temperatures and pressures needed for fusion, differs from that of ITER, suggesting that this method of fusion is more promising.
Despite the technical complexity, fusion power has massive advantages over almost every other currently available power source.
Unlike current nuclear fission plants, fusion power does not have the risk of a meltdown, as they only use a small amount of fuel at any given time. Moreover, due to the precise conditions needed for fusion to occur, any system failure, will simply result in the end of the fusion reaction.
Additionally, the radioactive by-products of nuclear fusion have significantly shorter half-lives than those of nuclear fission, meaning they would only need to be safely stored for a matter of decades.
Finally, nuclear fusion creates no carbon emissions, while being able to run more or less around the clock, making it a superior source of green energy to wind and solar power.
Should fusion power become economically viable, it would solve many of humanity’s current and future energy supply problems.
Miradi mipya duniani kote inatuleta karibu zaidi na ndoto ya kufikia nguvu ya fusion inayofaa kibiashara. "Kampuni ya fusion ya Canada na kampuni ya utafiti wa teknolojia ya fusion ya Canada, ""Fusion 2030,"" imesema kuwa itatengeneza mitambo ya fusion ya umeme kwa miaka 30." Pamoja na Chuo Kikuu cha Alberta, Chuo Kikuu cha Saskatchewan, Chama cha Nyuklia cha Canada, na kampuni za kibinafsi kama vile General Fusion, mradi wa Fusion 2030 unakusudia kushiriki utafiti ili kukuza maendeleo ya haraka ya teknolojia. "Sisi sote tunajifunza kutoka kwa kila mmoja", alisema Daktari Michel Laberge kutoka General Fusion. "Mafunzo ya nishati ya fusion ni muhimu sana kwamba ni muhimu kwamba sisi sote tufanye kazi pamoja, ""Fusion 2030 inaamini na tu $ 125m ya uwekezaji inaweza kutoa malengo yake ndani ya muda mfupi wa muda." Kwa upande mwingine, mradi wa majaribio ya nyuklia ya kimataifa (ITER) ambao hapo awali ulikuwa mradi mkubwa zaidi wa nishati ya fusion ulimwenguni, una bei ya mabilioni, na haitaanza kufanya kazi kamili hadi 2035. Ingawa vizuizi vya kiufundi kwa mradi wa Fusion 2030 ni kubwa kushinda, miaka ya hivi karibuni wameona maendeleo makubwa na kuahidi katika uwanja wa nishati fusion. Hasa, Kituo cha Kitaifa cha Ignition nchini Marekani kimeona mafanikio makubwa bila kutumia miundo maarufu ya "Tokamak" yenye umbo la donati. Njia yao ya kutumia lasers zenye nguvu nyingi kutengeneza joto na shinikizo linalohitajika kwa fusion inatofautiana na ile ya ITER, ikidokeza kwamba njia hii ya fusion ni ya kuahidi zaidi. Licha ya utata wa kiufundi, nishati ya fusion ina faida kubwa juu ya karibu kila chanzo kingine cha nishati kinachopatikana kwa sasa. Tofauti na mitambo ya sasa ya nyuklia, umeme wa fusion hauna hatari ya kuyeyushwa kwa gesi, kwani hutumia kiasi kidogo tu cha mafuta wakati wowote. Zaidi ya hayo, kutokana na hali sahihi zinazohitajika kwa fusion kutokea, yoyote ya mfumo kushindwa, itakuwa tu kusababisha mwisho wa mmenyuko fusion. Kwa kuongezea, bidhaa za nyuklia za nyuklia zina nusu ya maisha ya muda mfupi kuliko zile za nyuklia, ikimaanisha kwamba zinahitaji kuhifadhiwa kwa usalama kwa miongo kadhaa. Mwishowe, fusion ya nyuklia haitokezi uzalishaji wa kaboni, wakati kuweza kuendesha zaidi au chini ya saa, na kuifanya kuwa chanzo bora cha nishati ya kijani kwa upepo na nishati ya jua. Ikiwa nishati ya fusion ingeweza kutumika kiuchumi, ingeweza kutatua matatizo mengi ya sasa na ya wakati ujao ya ugavi wa nishati wa wanadamu.