Fusion energy, “energy from the stars”, should – along with renewables – be the preferred production model to get us out of the catastrophic model based on burning fossil fuels and, by the way, avoid dependence on people like Putin (and others from the energy lobby , the most powerful on the planet) in an energy blackmail that the world must get out of as soon as possible.

The theory of how fusion energy (nuclear fusion) works is well known because it activates stars like our Sun and has been researched since 1950. The problem is that we haven’t had the technical ability to harness this energy. And to be honest, the people in charge didn’t care… Currently, various groups of scientists are working on it, and mainly two: ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Although the production of a commercial reactor is still decades away, in recent years we are learning about various advances that are bringing us closer to the goal. This weekend, several American media outlets published the rumored information “key breakthrough”. The US Department of Energy has scheduled an official announcement for tomorrow, Tuesday at 7:00 a.m. (PT). It can be watched live from this link.

Fusion Power: A Key Breakthrough

From what we know so far, this would be an official confirmation of the information we have already given you: the scientists at Lawrence Livermore would have achieved “ignition” or whatever, to achieve more energy than is used in the fusion process. Obviously, this is the holy grail of this technology and a key moment to keep moving forward.

In experiments conducted to achieve ignition, scientists heat and compress a central “hot spot” of deuterium-tritium fuel (hydrogen atoms with one and two neutrons) using a surrounding dense piston also made of deuterium-tritium to create a super-hot, pressurized hydrogen plasma.

Ignition occurs when heated from the absorption of α-particles [dos protones y dos neutrones estrechamente unidos] formed in the fusion process “mechanisms of loss of results in the system over a period of time”, they explain. The big goal is to make the fusion process automatically generate enough energy to be used globally as a practical energy source. unlimited, cheap and cleaner energy than using fossil fuels and less dangerous than nuclear fission.

Nuclear fusion, star energy on Earth

Fusion energy involves the release of energy by joining atomic nuclei, as opposed to that caused by nuclear fission used in nuclear power plants and atomic bombs.

The advantages of fusion as a method of generating energy are remarkable, starting with the necessary fuel, essentially deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen that we have on Earth unlimited supply. They are also important safety benefits. Faced with the risks of fission, fusion is not a chain reaction, so it can be controlled and canceled simply by removing the fuel.

His reasoning for “clean energy” is due to the fact that it does not produce gases that contribute to global warming because the helium produced in the reaction is not harmful. It must be said that nuclear fusion is not harmless as it produces radioactive tritium and the walls of the reactor become radioactive due to the plasma.

The still-unsolved processing of radioactive tritium and the huge investment from Fusion have led environmental groups to insist that the same low-cost, clean energy goals can be achieved with a combination of renewables (wind, geothermal, hydro, tidal, solar) in less time and lower costs. In each case, Fusion has nothing to do with burning fossil fuels or the fission problemtaking into account that any method of energy production has some impact on the environment.

These projects are extremely complex, expensive and long-term, but necessary to achieve one day safe, sufficient, relatively cheap and environmentally friendly energyin a project that “It does not benefit the partner or the country, but the whole of humanity”as scientists point out.

We’ll see tomorrow what they tell us from the United States, but the predictions are promising progress. Future developments in ITER are also expected. The reactor, which is being built in Cadarache in the south of France, is the most difficult engineering project ever to be installed on Earth and involves 35 countries including the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, the United States, South Korea and China. There is certainly no other international project so supported in the world at war for blocs.