A reactor that costs hundreds of millions of dollars is being worked on by the Commonwealth. Superconducting materials are used to achieve super strong magnetic fields that can keep the fuel in place for fusion reactions, which is not possible with conventional materials.
A few decades from now, fusion reactor that can be used to generate a lot of power are still a long way off. Commonwealth plans to build demonstrations within a few years and power plants within 10 years. It was announced last year that it had raised over $1 billion in venture capital funding.
The fusion field is likely to get a boost from the NIF news. It is not a guarantee that fusion will work commercially.
I have a story about how much power it takes to run those lasers. This coverage from The Atlantic dives into more of the history of fusion hype. James had an in-depth feature on private fusion efforts in February.
According to a new report, renewable energy could overtake coal as the world's biggest energy source in the next decade.
There are new tax credits for electric vehicles in the US, but they may be hard to get.
There are new maps showing how different neighborhoods have different climate impacts.
→ Alternative fuels still have steep challenges ahead, but the aviation industry is relying on them for climate goals. (MIT Technology Review)
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