Rabat – US scientists announced a new major breakthrough in fusion energy, confirming that an experiment produced more energy than what was put in.
Although experts maintain that there remains a long road before fusion energy could be used as a reliable mainstream energy source, the breakthrough is the biggest in decades of research into the field.
While the amount of energy produced did indeed surpass the input, this did not take into account the energy required to operate the lasers for the experiment, meaning there is still a lot of research required to refine the process.
The experiment took place at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, using a process whereby a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma is hit with the world’s biggest laser to produce energy.
Described as the “holy grail” of energy production, fusion energy could potentially produce limitless zero-carbon energy. Research has been slow, however, with no one managing to achieve the most recent breakthrough since the 1950s.
Contrary to the other form of nuclear energy, nuclear fission, fusion energy produces small amounts of short-lived radioactive waste, and can output far more energy, also producing zero greenhouse gasses in the process.
Nuclear fusion is also the method by which the sun and other stars produce energy.
The breakthrough has been hailed by physicists and experts worldwide, who said it has given new hope that producing energy using this method is indeed possible.
“Fusion has been exciting scientists since they first figured out what was causing the Sun to shine,” CEO of Fusion Energy Insights Melanie Windridge told the BBC. “These results today really put us on the path to the commercialization of the technology.”
