BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California this month achieved something that has never been done before: Controlled fusion ignition with a gain of energy.
That means scientists were able to produce more energy from fusion than the amount of energy used to cause the reaction.
- For the first time ever, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have achieved controlled fusion ignition for a gain of energy output
- The energy gain is small, but a local expert says that if it is repeatable on a large scale, it could prove fusion power as a viable source of clean energy
- A Lehigh University professor is part of a project underway in France that hopes to create 10 times more power through fusion energy
Locally, Eugenio Schuster, professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics and the director of the Plasma Control Laboratory at Lehigh University, said the achievement, while producing only a small amount of energy, shows the potential that fusion power has as a source of clean energy in the future.
“For the first time we accomplished the type of gain that’s needed for a reactor,” Schuster said. “Until now, we were not able to produce more energy. Now, we’ve demonstrated that through this type of nuclear reaction, we can produce more energy than what is needed for this reaction to happen.”
In announcing the success of the experiment, the U.S. Energy Department noted that scientists were able to produce a little more than 3 megajoules—about one kilowatt—using about 2 megajoules to start the reaction.
That's a small amount of power. For example, a typical ceiling fan uses about 5 kilowatts to run for a week.
But Schuster said that's proof that it can be done through a fusion reaction which, he said, is a clean source of energy, as the elements needed for the reaction to occur can be found in seawater.
And, he said, this energy doesn’t rely on uncontrollable elements that can hamper other sources of clean energy, like wind or solar power.
“We can produce energy 24/7," he said. "This is not the case with wind. This is not the case with the sun. So it’s a source of energy that doesn't depend if it's night or day, summer or winter, it doesn’t matter, we can produce energy as we need.
“So it has the benefits of traditional green energy, but it also has additional benefits.”
Still, Schuster said the recent breakthrough will need to be repeatable on a larger scale to make it a viable source of energy for commercial use.
He is working with a team that is bringing a larger scale project—the ITER project in France—that Schuster argues could produce results 10 times as powerful as the recent breakthrough within 10 years.
Still, Schuster said, he believes the recent breakthrough could re-energize interest in fusion power and could help move the county closer to relying on clean sources of energy.
“In places like Lehigh University or around the country, I think we need to prep for more students in this area. I think there will be more interest. Students look at this announcement and, senior students in high school will say ‘hey, look at this nuclear fusion. This is fascinating, I want to study this.'"Eugenio Schuster, professor at Lehigh University
And he expects students in high school who want to learn about that form of energy could be the next generation of students at Lehigh University.
“In places like Lehigh University or around the country, I think we need to prep for more students in this area. I think there will be more interest,” he said.
“Students look at this announcement and, senior students in high school will say ‘hey, look at this nuclear fusion. This is fascinating, I want to study this.”
