US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said Tuesday (13th) that scientists at Lawrenceley Fermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California successfully created the "net energy gain" nuclear fusion reaction.
Granholm said that scientists copied "a certain condition that can only be discovered in stars and the sun" in the experiment, and this landmark experiment is an important step towards zero-carbon fusion energy.
"If we can advance nuclear fusion energy, we can use it to produce clean electricity, transportation fuel, power industry and heavy industry," said Granholm. He also said that the U.S. government's goal is to commercialize nuclear fusion energy within 10 years.
However, at a press conference that day, LLNL Lab Director Kim Budil said that the technology may take "decades" to be commercialized.
Budiller said that there are very significant obstacles in both science and technology, but Budiller also said that if investment and attention are in place, this timetable "can be faster."
reveals the milestone keywords: "ignition"
Granholm said that LLNL scientists have achieved "ignition" - that is, a nuclear fusion reaction that produces energy greater than energy consumption.
"Implementing fusion ignition in the laboratory is one of the most important scientific challenges in human history. To achieve this goal is the victory of the scientific and engineering circles, and most importantly, the victory of all mankind." Budiller said on the same day.
Budiller introduced that in this experiment, scientists fired 192 lasers at a cylindrical target called a "cavity", producing X-ray radiation, and a tiny diamond capsule containing two isotopes deuterium and tritium, imploded and released energy. He also said the experiment produced a fusion energy output of 3.15 megojou, exceeding the 2.05 megojou energy used to drive it. According to the physicists involved in the experiment, the experiment on that day can be understood as follows: Scientists fired "energy bullets" from the world's largest laser beam, , to hit the "target object". After the "target object" was ignited, the temperature reached 100 million degrees Celsius - 10 times higher than the temperature in the center of the sun.
"Ignition in controlled fusion experiments has been achieved through more than 60 years of global research, development, engineering and experiments." said Hruby, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy.
US media reported that LLNL released a report after an experiment in August 2021 saying that the output of its laser cluster set a new record. According to Nature, the reaction produced 70% of the energy released by laser emission.
Expert: It will take decades for the commercialization of nuclear fusion clean energy
US media quoted the view of energy experts and stated that the ignition process of achieving nuclear fusion requires very precise calculation and technical maintenance between two laser emissions. Each emission requires more than US$100,000 and hundreds of hours of design calculations. Therefore, making this process reach the scale of commercialization requires more complex technological upgrades.
"Once a single (laser) emission with good results is achieved, a repeat experiment of 10 times per second must be performed to achieve the continuous response required for commercialization." An official from the U.S. Department of Energy asked to be anonymous said, "This requires 10 lasers per second. This is not impossible, but from the perspective of engineering , it is very difficult."
"Implementing nuclear fusion (in the laboratory) does not mean that it can go directly to the commercialization of fusion energy." Steven Cowley, director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory under the U.S. Department of Energy, said at a nuclear fusion meeting held at the White House in April, "But we have tools to do it."
McKinsey's sustainable energy expert Geoff (Geoff) Olynyk said the biggest obstacle to commercialization of nuclear fusion may still be money, because commercial companies must demonstrate that there is a way to reduce the cost of nuclear fusion and make it more competitive.
"All fusion companies are targeting this goal, but there is no evidence that any of them can do it." Olenik said, "The first (commercial) demonstration will be very expensive."
researchers involved in the LLNL experiment also said that despite the experiments that recorded net energy gains on their own a week ago, the prospects of fusion technology still face multiple challenges.
"Our calculations show that laser systems have the potential to achieve hundreds of megajoules, so there is a way to achieve the goal of output." Budiller said, "But we are still far from achieving that goal."
US media reported that LLNL's ignition facilities can only conduct laser emissions once a day, while power plants need to continuously produce energy.
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