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Performance was gradually improved until, as of 2024, the fusion energy routinely exceeded 2 MJ. [31] To be useful for energy production, a fusion facility must produce fusion output at least an order of magnitude more than the energy used to power the laser amplifiers – 400 MJ in the case of NIF. [32]
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Jennifer Granholm, secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, says that the U.S. is aiming to create a working fusion reactor by 2035.
Researchers at this Livermore, Calif., facility had spent more than 13 years trying and failing to attain fusion ignition, meaning that the reaction outputs more energy than scientists put into it.
Fusion ignition is the point at which a nuclear fusion reaction becomes self-sustaining. This occurs when the energy being given off by the reaction heats the fuel mass more rapidly than it cools. In other words, fusion ignition is the point at which the increasing self-heating of the nuclear fusion removes the need for external heating. [1]
Nuclear fusion occurs when two atoms under extreme pressure and heat fuse into one atom, releasing a packet of energy. (Photo: National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory)
SPARC is designed to achieve this with margin in excess of breakeven and may be capable of achieving up to 140 MW of fusion power for 10 second bursts despite its relatively compact size. [ 2 ] [ 1 ] The project is scheduled to start operations in 2026, with the goal of demonstrating net power (Q > 1) in 2027. [ 6 ]
U.S. scientists have achieved “ignition” — a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a critical milestone for nuclear fusion and a step forward in the pursuit of ...