Latest news with #Earth-abundant
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Researchers make breakthrough on experimental device that will get hotter than the sun: 'It provides energy and cooling media'
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France is inching closer to completion with the delivery of essential magnetic components from China for its fusion reactor. The Correction Coil In-Cryostat Feeder is the last and most important of many massive components in the reactor's magnetic feeder system, according to Interesting Engineering. The device was developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics, and, according to the institution, it consists of nine sets of half-ring structures measuring approximately 52 feet wide and 10 feet high. Per the news report, ITER is jointly funded by the European Union, China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, and Russia, all working together to unlock nearly unlimited amounts of clean and sustainable energy. Fusion is the process of harvesting energy released when two nuclei in a superheated plasma combine to form a new atomic nucleus. The energy and pressure required to heat the plasma are immense, even exceeding temperatures in our sun, where fusion naturally occurs. Although the success of human-made fusion reactors is still mostly theoretical, scientists are hopeful that this energy source is nearing viability. According to ITER, "Fusion research has increased key fusion plasma performance parameters by a factor of 10,000 over 60 years; research is now less than a factor of 10 away from producing the performance needed for a fusion power plant." The process does not emit harmful pollutants or long-lived radioactive waste and uses Earth-abundant deuterium and tritium as fuel. If successful, fusion reactors could complement solar and wind energy, pushing society further toward its sustainability goals. The ITER magnetic feeder system is known as the "lifeline" of the reactor's magnetic assembly, and Lu Kun, deputy director of ASIPP, explained how crucial it is to the project in a press release from the school. "It provides energy and cooling media to the fusion reactor magnets, sends back critical control signals, and also acts as a discharge channel to safely release stored magnet energy," Kun said. Other fusion reactor projects are making progress with incremental improvements to their design. China's Huanliu-3 reactor employs real-time data tracking to help fine-tune internal processes, while scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority successfully produced fusion-grade steel that can withstand the temperatures needed in these reactors. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Government officials announce $20 million plan that may redefine energy production: 'Secure the … energy of the future while supporting jobs today'
In a bid to attract private-sector funding for clean energy, the UK government has made a £20 million (about $26.6 million USD) commitment to establish Starmaker One, the world's first government-affiliated private fusion investment fund. In January of this year, the British government announced a record £410 million ($545.6 million USD) investment in its Plan for Change, a fusion energy research and development strategy to help the country become a clean energy superpower. Now, in hopes of bolstering these efforts, it's seeking private sector capital to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy tech with this limited partnership, where the government is a cornerstone investor, as Interesting Engineering reported. The promise of fusion as a source of nearly limitless energy is growing as projects across the globe race to try to solve the enormous complexity involved in harnessing it. Fusion reactors work by heating Earth-abundant and hydrogen-rich deuterium and tritium fuels to temperatures hotter than the core of the sun. This creates a superheated plasma, and through methods including magnetic confinement, researchers hope to sustain an environment in which two nuclei can fuse to form a single heavier nucleus, giving off energy in the process. Fusion is an environmentally friendly energy-generating process and doesn't release carbon dioxide or any other planet-warming gases through its operation. Global leaders believe that fusion is one of the key solutions for future energy security, but as IE explained, private UK firms working on developing the technology have had limited access to capital in order to scale up their work. The UK government believes that a British private investment fund like Starmaker One can help these new fusion start-ups grow their businesses and begin to commercialize at scale, as a press release detailed. Not only would the success of any of these projects help add a new renewable energy resource to the grid, complementing solar and wind investments, but it would also help support the job economy. Will America someday get all its energy from renewable sources? Yes — very soon Yes — by 2050 Yes — by 2070 Probably never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The funding boost would allow these companies to train employees in key areas such as physics, engineering, and chemistry, creating new jobs in the renewable energy sector. Additionally, the government believes it would support fusion-adjacent technologies like magnetics, industrial AI, robotics, transportation, and energy storage. "This investment is our Plan for Change in action — we are backing British pioneers to secure the clean energy of the future while supporting jobs today, from scientists and welders to engineers and construction managers," as energy minister Kerry McCarthy stated in a press release. McCarthy added, "As countries around the world recognize the huge potential of fusion, breakthroughs in this technology are happening thick and fast, and we want to keep the UK at the forefront of the global race by helping projects to innovate and grow here, in turn driving economic growth." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Officials announce plans to build plant that could supply unlimited power — here's what we know
The first phase in developing China's and what's touted as the world's first fusion-fission hybrid power plant has been announced, with fundraising efforts for the project underway. A public tender was issued for an environmental impact assessment on the $2.76 billion Xinghuo high-temperature superconducting reactor, as reported by Interesting Engineering, marking progress toward an original goal of "demonstration and application" of the project by 2030. It's slated to be built on Yaohu Science Island, which is located in a high-tech zone of Nanchang, Jiangxi province, the report explained. It's an area known for its wealth of copper resources that are a key element in superconducting technology. The project is said to be a collaboration between state-owned China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Corporation and Lianovation Superconductor, with the ultimate goal of achieving an energy gain factor (Q value) of more than 30. That value rates the energy output amount related to the input energy required. In comparison, a fusion reactor project in France named ITER aims to have a Q value of above 10, per Interesting Engineering. Fusion projects, which rely on containing a superheated plasma where two nuclei combine to form a new nucleus, thereby creating energy, are already underway across the globe, although their success remains theoretical. These processes occur naturally in stars like our Sun. A fusion-fission hybrid reactor looks to use the energy from fusion reactions to split atoms in fissile material at its core, essentially using fusion as a stable fuel to power high-energy fission reactions, as detailed by Power Technology. These hybrid systems can use the Earth-abundant deuterium and tritium fuels for the fusion reaction, reducing the need for less available materials used in nuclear fission. The reaction is also safer from nuclear meltdown, as fission reactions slow once fusion stops creating neutrons, as Asia Times noted. This Xinghuo project is expected to generate 100 megawatts of grid-connected electricity, as the IE report explained, which is roughly equivalent to powering 100,000 homes. Fusion has been praised as the holy grail for energy generation, with a predicted ability to produce unlimited amounts of clean energy, at low costs, and without any harmful byproducts. Should we be digging miles beneath Earth's surface? No way Definitely Depends what it's for Depends where we do it Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. If successful, these types of reactors could help humankind achieve its sustainability goals by reducing pollution and shifting away from burning dirty fuels for power. According to the Asia Times report, the project's timeline begins with completing the facility's design this year, followed by equipment production, assembly, and testing. Completion of its first phase is expected by 2031, although it's not clear if actual power generation will be ready by that time. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
