Space is exciting. The idea of finding life elsewhere in the solar system or visiting another planet captures the imagination. Private companies like SpaceX getting involved to carry cargo and now crew to the International Space Station are freeing up NASA scientists to focus on more ambitious goals
Creating new sources of sustainable, reliable and zero-carbon energy is a critical national security question and may prove to be an existential threat to humanity. Investors are rushing to fund clean-tech startups that promise to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Perhaps the most transformative of those new, clean energy technologies is fusion energy.
Two and a half years ago, MIT entered into a research agreement with startup company Commonwealth Fusion Systems to develop a next-generation fusion research experiment, called SPARC, as a precursor to a practical, emissions-free power plant.
The oil industry’s search for carbon-free alternatives to fossil fuels has led to many interesting investment decisions over the years. Somewhere high on that list is nuclear fusion, the energy that powers the sun, which has drawn investment from at least three major oil companies.
Oil major Chevron Corp CVX.N said on Wednesday it is investing in Zap Energy Inc, joining Italy’s ENI ENI.MI and Norwegian state oil company Equinor EQNR.OL who have also backed nuclear fusion startups to reduce their carbon footprint.
Realizing nuclear fusion as a practical energy source poses enormous challenges owing to the extreme physical conditions required by the known fusion reactions. These include temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius or more and astronomically high pressures, which must be maintained long enough to reach a net energy output.
The world has a major problem to solve. By 2040, we will need 29 trillion KWh of new energy generation to support 9 billion people on the planet, a whopping 45% increase in electricity demand. Wind, solar and other forms of renewables are well-positioned to play a key role, but their volatile, weather-dependent nature means…
The Madison, Wisconsin-based startup Phoenix has scouted a team of nuclear elites for a new frontier: small reactors that can revolutionize medical imaging, munitions scanning, and even non-destructive testing for quality assurance.
The modern quest for Promethean fire is underway in an anonymous office park in Foothill Ranch, California, an hour southeast of Los Angeles. In the park, along a meandering drive, you will find a huge, modern warehouse building with “TAE Technologies” emblazoned on the door. Inside, you will find a 100-foot-long, $200 million fusion-energy experiment…
The decades-old debate over nuclear fusion vs. fission is on the edge of a breakthrough as startup Commonwealth Fusion Systems wins over Bill Gates and other backers. Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor is one of them. Commonwealth Fuel Systems has a system powered by high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets that are key to a push to get a commercial fusion energy system…