Coal is dirty.
Nuclear is scary.
Solar and wind aren’t always reliable.
Hydrothermal and hydroelectric aren’t widely accessible.
And we'll eventually deplete our oil reserves.
Okay, yes, this is all a bit of hyperbole, but the bottom line is that we don’t have
a perfect source of energy.
But, there might be hope.
Around the world people are working on fusion energy, which might be the safe, efficient,
reliable, clean energy source that could save our planet.
Okay, that’s a little bit more hyperbole, but it would be world-changing.
So, how close are we to fusion energy?
This may come as a surprise to some, but fusion is not some futuristic, sci-fi idea, it’s
real.
It’s happening.
You’ve seen it.
Fusion energy exists every time we go out in the day and look at the sun, we see a big
ball of burning hydrogen gas...If you go out at night and look at the stars, those are
also billions and billions, to quote Carl Sagan, of burning plasma engines, fusion engines.
We've always followed the stars for direction, but we need to learn to emulate them
The twinkle of a star and the heat from our sun, are byproducts of fusion.
Fusion is the process of two light atoms, like hydrogen, being forced together due to
immense heat and pressure to form a heavier atom, like helium.
When this merger happens, energy is released, which creates heat and light.
Fusion is the energy that makes life possible on our planet.
And many think fusion will power our cities of the future.
We're burning things, which has got to stop.
We just literally set fire to things.
That is really how we power cities at the moment.
It's very inefficient.
It's very dirty, and it's not doing our atmosphere any good.
And our atmosphere is one of the main reasons people are excited about fusion.
Unlike fossil fuels, Nuclear fusion doesn’t release toxins and polluting greenhouse gasses
like carbon dioxide.
The byproduct of fusion is helium, an inert, non toxic gas.
The fuel is made of two hydrogen atoms that can be pulled from our abundant supply of
seawater.
And yes, fusion does produce radioactive byproducts, but the half-life of that waste is much shorter
than in a fission reactor.
It’s for all these reasons and more that Nuclear Fusion is viewed by many to be the
cleanest, greenest and most viable alternative to fossil fuels that we have.
In fact, one of the biggest advantages touted by fusion supporters is that power plants
might be able to plug right into our existing electrical grid, meaning we don’t have to
reinvent the wheel when it comes to energy infrastructure.
Essentially the basic premise of fusion is to take the sun, a shining ball of hydrogen
in the sky, and to bring it to Earth and use the heat it produces to generate steam, and
to use that steam to turn a turbine.
Now, of course we can’t grab a star and transport it to Earth, but we can replicate
the conditions of a star.
And we have.
We currently have the technology to heat up hydrogen atoms to well beyond the temperature
of the sun, to a point where fusion can occur.
We have the technology to keep that superheated plasma in place long enough for fusion to
occur.
We know we can turn heat into electricity and currently have the infrastructure to put
that electricity onto the grid.
So, why can’t I charge my phone with electricity made by fusion?
Well, it all comes down to Q.
In the world of fusion, Q represents “energy gain.”
Basically, power plants of all kinds need electricity to produce, well, electricity.
This is only worthwhile if you make more electricity than you consume.
No one has done that yet.
That isn’t to say people haven’t made fusion reactions happen, because they do.
They do more and more every year and we have more and more knowledge of how this works
every year...But that first step hasn’t happened yet, more out than you put in.
It seems like right now the marker for success is a reactor that produces ten times more
energy than it’s putting in.
That’s the goal for ITER, the largest scale fusion experiment on the planet that’s been
in the works for decades.
ITER represents a collaboration of something like 30 nations on Earth to contribute to
building a tokamak and demonstrating an energy gain, a capital Q of ten.
This is exciting, and many think the science is already proven out, meaning that when it
turns out in 2025, it will meet or exceed its goal.
But, ITER is experiment only to demonstrate that fusion can produce a net energy gain.
As big and expensive as it is, will not power anyone's home.
If it’s successful, than a power station called DEMO will be built, aiming to put fusion
electricity onto the grid somewhere between 2030 and 2050.
Or, maybe even a little after that.
Which is one of the complaints about the world of fusion so far; it takes time.
So, one of the major issues with working in government projects is that they are notoriously
bureaucratic....We're building parts all over the world, I mean, it is the perfect storm
for a delayed project, an over-funded, over-budgeted delayed project.
Government projects aren’t the only way to achieve fusion.
Private companies are also getting in on the world of fusion and they’re not waiting
around for ITER to prove successful.
For example MIT, helped by Professor Hartwig, recently teamed up with a private company
on a plan that they think could lead to an operational fusion power plant within the
next 15 years.
But it’s not just money that is key to fusion success, it’s awareness.
The more vocal the public is about wanting fusion power plants the more governments and
investors might take notice.
As every politician knows, the public plays the only role in this.
And I think this is an important issue...Do people trust whoever is building this in a
way that they will accept this as a part of their everyday life?
So, for nuclear fusion to happen, it might take you.
It might take you to read about it, learn about it, talk about it, watch videos about
it.
There are fusion experiments currently being carried out all over the world and the computer
models have already proved that the science works.
People want it, governments wants it, private industry wants it and well...the environment
wants it.
It just needs to be tested, built, made scalable, approved and installed.
So, how close are we to fusion energy?
Well, the world that we would have fusion energy is clearly a future world.
It's 30, 50 years where it's a dominant form of energy if everything goes right.
Fusion is the only candidate we have.
It's what the stars are doing.
It's what the universe is telling us to do, as the right way to create energy.
It's not, do you think it's the right way or not?
It's coming for sure.
Thanks for watching everyone. If you want to know how close we are
to resurrecting the mammoth, curing AIDS, or taking pictures of blackholes,
you can do that right here.
Now thanks again for watching Seeker. We'll see you next time.