Fusion energy is often treated as a running joke in discussions of climate change and energy, failing to deliver after decades of research. But scientists say fusion has never been treated as a priority and with some recent advances, they say we’re closer than ever to getting more out of it than we put in.
This is the companion article to the fusion episode of the Unexplainable podcast.
In my second visit to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, I spoke the new director of the beleaguered project about proposed changes to bring member nations back on track and whether their ambitions for harnessing fusion have changed.
ITER under construction in southern France
At the world's biggest, most complicated science experiment, science agencies from around the world are building it in the most complicated way possible. The goal is to harness fusion, the reaction that powers the sun, to produce electricity here on earth. However, the project is over budget and behind schedule, leading some members to reevaluate what they hope to get out of it.
A welcome sign or a tombstone?