In contrast to other technological advances, the objective for next-generation nuclear reactors seems to be to scale down, not up—an initiative backed by the Department of Energy (DOE). Earlier this month, the DOE announced a conditional agreement made with private firms Westinghouse and Radiant to conduct the first reactor tests at its Demonstration on Microreactor […]
Record-Breaking Fusion Lab More Than Doubles Its 2022 Energy Breakthrough
The world’s only fusion experiment that actually gives back more energy than it takes in is now breaking its own records. According to TechCrunch, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently pushed its fusion yield—first to 5.2 megajoules, and then to 8.6 megajoules—more than doubling the energy released in its historic […]
China Plans Ambitious Nuclear Fusion Target For 2030
China has set its sights on a new fusion-fission power plant that could be up and running by the end of the decade. The reactor is called Xinghuo; it will reportedly cost $27.6 billion and will be built on central China’s Yaohu Science Island, according to the South China Morning Post. Because Xinghuo is a […]