For true energy security, the US must hurry to develop fusion technology
FIA CEO Andrew Holland’s op-ed for the Washington Examiner
FIA CEO Andrew Holland’s op-ed for the Washington Examiner
Published on May 18, 2022, this article gives details on what fusion commercialization means for obtaining energy security at the national level and on a global scale. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and its aftermath demonstrate the urgent need to end the capability of using energy as a pawn, wielded by powers threatening political and economic security.
“In short, we need an energy revolution that will permanently replace dependence on scarce resources with leadership in technology. The best way to create real energy security is to will transition energy from a resource that any dictator can control to a good that is manufactured. Fusion will permanently separate energy from geopolitics and national security.”
Fusion commercialization and deployment has the power to do this. It will shift energy away from being a scarce resource to a manufactured one. The latest advancements in fusion technology development and pushes from both the private and public sectors demonstrate that this energy revolution is fast approaching.
“As fusion transitions from the lab to commercialization, private companies need the American government to become a real partner in this effort. That’s why it’s so important that, in the annual spending bill for 2022, Congress approved record spending of $713 million for fusion energy research, including $45 million to initiate a new public-private partnership program that would support the private sector’s aggressive efforts.
In March, the White House also hosted a summit to plan a “ Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy ,” which sets out how, in 10 years, the U.S. can have multiple fusion pilot plants of different sizes, approaches, and fuels operating in new fusion technology hubs around the country. There is no better way to show that the U.S. has broken from Putin’s energy dominance than by initiating a new program to lead the world in clean, safe, sustainable fusion energy.”
A downloadable link to the full article is below:
