Nuclear fusion
🚀 Fusion-powered spacecraft can cut travel time to Mars in half
British company Pulsar Fusion is developing Sunbird, a fusion-powered spacecraft that can reach speeds up to 805,000 kilometers per hour. Nuclear fusion in space may be easier to achieve than on Earth, as vacuum is a more natural environment for the fusion process.
🏆 French fusion facility breaks world record for longest plasma duration
CEA's machine maintained plasma for over 22 minutes, meaning they kept the extremely hot, charged gas stable using magnetic fields This was 25 percent longer than the previous record. The plasma needs to be stable for several minutes to generate fusion energy.
⚡ The fusion power industry continues to grow
Investments in the fusion industry increased to over $7.1 billion. Government funding increased by 57 percent. Timelines for electricity production from fusion in the 2030s remain unchanged.
☢️ Bill Gates invests in next-generation nuclear power in Wyoming
Bill Gates and his energy company TerraPower are starting the construction of an advanced nuclear power plant in Wyoming. The project uses sodium for cooling instead of water, making it safer and more efficient. The plant is estimated to cost up to 4 billion dollars.
⚡ Fusion power breakthrough is repeated (now even more energy out than in)
US scientists achieve net energy gain in fusion reaction for the second time. The latest experiment produced more energy than the first one conducted last year.
⚡ A fusion-powered future: closer than we think? Microsoft bets it is
Helion Energy thinks it can produce electricity from fusion power in five years. So does Microsoft.
⚡ Nuclear fusion breakthrough: More energy out than in
For the first time in history, scientists have managed to produce more energy from nuclear fusion than what was required for the lasers to drive it.