Are We on the Threshold of Commercial Fusion?

For how many years have we been told that nuclear fusion energy is just 20 or 30 years down the road? It is for the average guy hard to imagine human technology has advanced to the point that we are ready to generate the energy of the Sun and stars in much smaller doses – and control that energy without burning us in eternal fire.

But the ultimate alchemy (turning lead to gold is chicken feed by comparison) is, according to multiple private companies, much closer to reality than the timeline espoused by the myriad of international nuclear scientists building Europe’s ITER or even China’s artificial sun.

As Tim DeChan reports, three key technological advances have turned the dream (or, to some, the nightmare) of fusion energy from science fiction to planned operational status before the end of President Trump’s second term. Tbe trio? More powerful computer chips, more sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI), and powerful high-temperature superconducting magnets.

The first reported breakthrough came in late 2022 when 192 lasers at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory converged on a small gold cylinder that contained a tiny bead of fuel composed of isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium, and tritium.