FIA Archive

If humanity survives for thousands more years, our primary energy source could very likely be nuclear fusion. It’s clean, the fuel is inexhaustible and cheap, and there’s no risk of a meltdown. It’s the power source of the stars — the whole cosmos, in fact. And we’re tantalizingly close to making it work. The downside is that the particular reactor now making the important breakthroughs in fusion is linked inextricably to nuclear weapons research.

Harnessing the power of nuclear fusion to generate electricity is a longstanding aspiration of the physics community. One company working towards this goal is UK-based First Light Fusion, which is using a technique called projectile fusion to create a simple, low-cost inertial fusion power plant.

About eight months ago, scientists at a US-government-funded lab replicated the process that powers stars—nuclear fusion—and created more energy than they put in. Now, physicists and engineers at the same facility, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Northern California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, appear to have successfully created an energy-gaining fusion experiment for the second time.

General Fusion today announced $25 million in new funding and plans to build a demonstration machine in its home province of British Columbia.

Colorado State University and a German technology company are teaming up on what is expected to be one of the most powerful laser facilities in the world and a major step in the quest to commercialize fusion energy, long seen as a potential source of carbon-free power.

US government scientists have achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the second time, a result that is set to fuel optimism that progress is being made towards the dream of limitless, zero-carbon power.

Meet the startups attracting investor attention and leading the race for nuclear fusion energy.