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Companies say they're closing in on nuclear fusion as an energy source. Will it work?

A section of aluminium coils from one of Helion's fusion machines. The company hopes its next-generation Polaris system will produce more electricity than it consumes. Geoff Brumfiel/NPR hide caption

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Geoff Brumfiel/NPR

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Science

Companies say they're closing in on nuclear fusion as an energy source. Will it work?

For decades, government scientists have toiled away trying to make nuclear fusion work. Will commercial companies sprint to the finish?

Companies say they're closing in on nuclear fusion as an energy source. Will it work?

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A Step Closer To Nuclear Fusion Energy

Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announces a major scientific breakthrough in fusion research that was made at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, during a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

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J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Short Wave

A Step Closer To Nuclear Fusion Energy

On Dec. 5 at 1 o'clock in the morning local time, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California used lasers to zap a tiny pellet of hydrogen fuel. The lasers hit their target with 2.05 megajoules of energy, and the pellet released roughly 3.15 megajoules. It's a major milestone, and one that the field of fusion science has struggled to reach for more than half a century: producing a fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes. While progress, the technology is still a ways off from its promise to produce energy without creating greenhouse gases. Today on the show, Regina G. Barber brings us two NPR stories that explain what this experiment showed and what else needs to happen to make fusion a practical energy source.

A Step Closer To Nuclear Fusion Energy

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U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet?

The facility uses powerful lasers to compress fuel pellets. The result is nuclear fusion, the process that powers the Sun and the world's largest nuclear weapons. Don Jedlovec/LLNL/NNSA hide caption

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Don Jedlovec/LLNL/NNSA

Analysis

Science

U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet?

A giant laser facility in Livermore, Calif., says it has created net energy from nuclear fusion. It's an important breakthrough, but fusion power remains a distant dream.

U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet?

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