Latest news with #ITER
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Engineers India plans to expand footprint in thermal, nuclear power
New Delhi: As the Centre aims to add thermal and nuclear power plants in the country to increase baseload capacity, state-run engineering consultancy and project management company Engineers India Ltd (EIL) is looking at taking more projects in both the power generation segments, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Vartika Shukla said on Thursday. Addressing the media, Shukla said the company is in talks with players in the wind energy space to develop offshore wind projects as it diversifies further into sectors other than oil and gas. 'To meet the demand gap in the power segment, there are several thermal power plants which are reviving and which earlier we were not looking at,' said Shukla. 'So, we are also talking to some (power generation companies). We are looking at a PMC (project management consultancy) role for those projects. We also see in the non-oil and gas power sector, opportunities in offshore wind.' The focus on thermal power comes in the backdrop of government plans to add 80GW of coal-based power generation capacity in the country by 2032 to meet rising power demand along with the ambitious energy transition goal of installing 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. On 30 April, Mint reported that the government may increase its coal-based capacity expansion plan to about 100GW amid rising coal production and growing power demand. EIL has so far been involved in captive power plants and also in the relocation of a 300MW gas-based power plant. Speaking of the plans in nuclear power, Shukla said the company has already entered into the space and has also trained its workforce for the sector. 'We have moved the needle towards more engagement towards the nuclear sector as well,' she said. 'We were present in the space when we did the Kundankulam need to revisit that relationship. So, we have trained our people in BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre). We have built the competency within.' Some of the nuclear projects in which EIL has been associated include the 2x1000MWe Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant-Unit 3 & 4, Cooling Water and Heat Recovery Systems for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and NPCIL's Nuclear Power Project at Mithivirdi. EIL's CMD further said the company is looking at entering the small modular reactors space. Currently, India has an installed nuclear power capacity of 8.18GW and the government aims to triple the capacity by 2032. The Centre has also set an ambitious target of 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047. On Thursday, EIL reported a more than twofold growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March at ₹ 279.81 crore, compared to ₹ 115.52 crore in the year-ago period. Its total income for the fourth quarter of FY25 was ₹ 1,046.57 crore, 22.2% higher on a year-on-year basis. Addressing the press conference, Shukla said EIL secured an order inflow of ₹ 8,214 crore in 2024-25, an all-time high in the journey of the company, leading to an order book of around ₹ 11,700 crore. 'The share of its diversified business segments has increased significantly with around 36% of the order inflow shared by energy efficient infrastructure segment in the past fiscal, which includes high-end data centres, state-of-the-art laboratories, and academic complexes, among others,' said a company statement. In the previous fiscal, EIL secured around 36% of its business through competitive bidding with the share of consultancy standing at around 56% of the order inflow in the fiscal. The contribution of order inflow from international businesses reached ₹ 1,077 crore, the highest in the past decade, the statement added.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - From moonshots to megawatts: Fusion's Cold War moment
When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969, he declared it a 'giant leap for mankind.' This iconic moment, captured on grainy television screens worldwide, was not merely a triumph of human ingenuity but the result of intense geopolitical competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The rivalry, fueled by the existential anxieties of the Cold War, paradoxically propelled humanity forward. Today, we stand on the threshold of another transformative milestone — achieving practical nuclear fusion. And once again, competition, particularly among the U.S., China and Europe, may prove critical. Idealists often advocate global cooperation, envisioning pooled resources and collective progress. However, historical realities suggest that competitive pressure often yields faster, more substantial results. The sluggish progress of ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a collaboration of 35 nations including the U.S., China, Russia and several European countries, illustrates the inherent inefficiencies in sprawling multinational cooperation. Initially proposed in 1985, ITER's schedule has repeatedly slipped, with first plasma now anticipated no sooner than 2034. Development setbacks, bureaucratic inertia, conflicting national interests, inconsistent funding, and prolonged negotiations have significantly hindered progress. Contrast ITER's delays with the rapid advances of private and national fusion efforts. In the U.S., ventures such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems, driven by academic ingenuity and substantial private investments, have reached critical milestones. Commonwealth recently demonstrated a groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting magnet, a crucial advancement toward viable fusion energy. Today, more than 50 private startups globally have attracted more than $8 billion in investment, all racing to be the first to commercialize fusion. China, too, has aggressively advanced its fusion ambitions. Chinese researchers working on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, popularly known as the 'artificial sun,' recently maintained plasma at over 120 million degrees Celsius for more than 400 seconds, a remarkable achievement that brings fusion significantly closer to practical application. These achievements make clear that when the stakes are high, competitive dynamics accelerate progress in ways international collaborations often cannot. Europe, often perceived as a collaborative partner in ITER, is now asserting itself as a formidable competitor in the fusion arena. The European Union has long supported fusion research through such initiatives as EUROfusion, which coordinates research across numerous European laboratories. Facilities such as the Joint European Torus in the UK and the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany have achieved significant milestones, demonstrating Europe's commitment to advancing fusion technology. Moreover, European startups such as Marvel Fusion in Germany have attracted substantial investments to develop innovative fusion approaches, signaling a shift towards a more competitive stance in the global fusion race. The historical parallels are instructive. The Cold War-era space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union resulted in unprecedented technological achievements. Beyond landing astronauts on the moon, this competition spurred developments in microelectronics, telecommunications, materials science and computing. The intense desire to outperform a geopolitical rival drove nations to push technological limits, delivering widespread benefits continuously. Could NASA have achieved the moon landing sooner had it been obligated to negotiate every decision with multiple international partners? The answer is unequivocally no. Multilateral consensus-building, however well-intentioned, tends to slow decision-making and dilute ambition. This lesson applies directly to the fusion race. With the accelerating impacts of climate change and global energy demands expected to rise by nearly 50 percent by 2050, fusion energy's promise — clean, abundant, and nearly limitless energy — is urgently needed. Fusion has the potential to decarbonize global energy grids, diminish geopolitical tensions over fossil fuels, and provide stable energy to developing nations. Of course, competition is not without critics. Some argue it leads to duplication, secrecy, or geopolitical tension. Yet history and current fusion progress show competition can sharpen focus, streamline resources, and accelerate timelines where cooperation might stall. Indeed, competition among the U.S., China and Europe is about more than mere technological superiority; it shapes geopolitical alliances, influences global economic dynamics, and may redefine leadership in the 21st century. Just as the U.S. emerged from the space race as a global technological and economic powerhouse, the victor in fusion development will likely dictate future standards for global energy and technology governance. Fusion technology inherently offers widespread humanitarian benefits. Even if initial successes are regionally concentrated, these breakthroughs will inevitably diffuse globally due to their immense economic and environmental advantages. Like space-derived innovations such as satellite technology and computing, fusion's benefits will become universally accessible. Climate negotiations at COP28 underscore the difficulties inherent in international cooperation. Achieving even minimal consensus on reducing fossil fuel production (The 'transition away from fossil fuels' agreement) was politically contentious and largely ineffective, delivering superficial agreements that catered more to geopolitical power dynamics than to any meaningful climate solutions. Such bureaucratic delays and diluted outcomes illustrate why humanity cannot afford to rely solely on multilateral cooperation. Ultimately, the fusion race is not merely a geopolitical contest; it is a vital competition for human survival and global prosperity. While competition may not always be harmonious or efficient, neither was the space race. Yet, the space race advanced humanity dramatically. Allowing the fusion race to unfold unhindered may again deliver swift, transformative solutions at a time when humanity urgently needs them. Our planet and our future depend on embracing this competitive drive. Oded Gour-Lavie is CEO and co-founder of nT-Tao, a compact fusion power company based in Israel. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
4 days ago
- Science
- The Hill
From moonshots to megawatts: Fusion's Cold War moment
When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969, he declared it a 'giant leap for mankind.' This iconic moment, captured on grainy television screens worldwide, was not merely a triumph of human ingenuity but the result of intense geopolitical competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The rivalry, fueled by the existential anxieties of the Cold War, paradoxically propelled humanity forward. Today, we stand on the threshold of another transformative milestone — achieving practical nuclear fusion. And once again, competition, particularly among the U.S., China and Europe, may prove critical. Idealists often advocate global cooperation, envisioning pooled resources and collective progress. However, historical realities suggest that competitive pressure often yields faster, more substantial results. The sluggish progress of ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a collaboration of 35 nations including the U.S., China, Russia and several European countries, illustrates the inherent inefficiencies in sprawling multinational cooperation. Initially proposed in 1985, ITER's schedule has repeatedly slipped, with first plasma now anticipated no sooner than 2034. Development setbacks, bureaucratic inertia, conflicting national interests, inconsistent funding, and prolonged negotiations have significantly hindered progress. Contrast ITER's delays with the rapid advances of private and national fusion efforts. In the U.S., ventures such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems, driven by academic ingenuity and substantial private investments, have reached critical milestones. Commonwealth recently demonstrated a groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting magnet, a crucial advancement toward viable fusion energy. Today, more than 50 private startups globally have attracted more than $8 billion in investment, all racing to be the first to commercialize fusion. China, too, has aggressively advanced its fusion ambitions. Chinese researchers working on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, popularly known as the 'artificial sun,' recently maintained plasma at over 120 million degrees Celsius for more than 400 seconds, a remarkable achievement that brings fusion significantly closer to practical application. These achievements make clear that when the stakes are high, competitive dynamics accelerate progress in ways international collaborations often cannot. Europe, often perceived as a collaborative partner in ITER, is now asserting itself as a formidable competitor in the fusion arena. The European Union has long supported fusion research through such initiatives as EUROfusion, which coordinates research across numerous European laboratories. Facilities such as the Joint European Torus in the UK and the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany have achieved significant milestones, demonstrating Europe's commitment to advancing fusion technology. Moreover, European startups such as Marvel Fusion in Germany have attracted substantial investments to develop innovative fusion approaches, signaling a shift towards a more competitive stance in the global fusion race. The historical parallels are instructive. The Cold War-era space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union resulted in unprecedented technological achievements. Beyond landing astronauts on the moon, this competition spurred developments in microelectronics, telecommunications, materials science and computing. The intense desire to outperform a geopolitical rival drove nations to push technological limits, delivering widespread benefits continuously. Could NASA have achieved the moon landing sooner had it been obligated to negotiate every decision with multiple international partners? The answer is unequivocally no. Multilateral consensus-building, however well-intentioned, tends to slow decision-making and dilute ambition. This lesson applies directly to the fusion race. With the accelerating impacts of climate change and global energy demands expected to rise by nearly 50 percent by 2050, fusion energy's promise — clean, abundant, and nearly limitless energy — is urgently needed. Fusion has the potential to decarbonize global energy grids, diminish geopolitical tensions over fossil fuels, and provide stable energy to developing nations. Of course, competition is not without critics. Some argue it leads to duplication, secrecy, or geopolitical tension. Yet history and current fusion progress show competition can sharpen focus, streamline resources, and accelerate timelines where cooperation might stall. Indeed, competition among the U.S., China and Europe is about more than mere technological superiority; it shapes geopolitical alliances, influences global economic dynamics, and may redefine leadership in the 21st century. Just as the U.S. emerged from the space race as a global technological and economic powerhouse, the victor in fusion development will likely dictate future standards for global energy and technology governance. Fusion technology inherently offers widespread humanitarian benefits. Even if initial successes are regionally concentrated, these breakthroughs will inevitably diffuse globally due to their immense economic and environmental advantages. Like space-derived innovations such as satellite technology and computing, fusion's benefits will become universally accessible. Climate negotiations at COP28 underscore the difficulties inherent in international cooperation. Achieving even minimal consensus on reducing fossil fuel production (The 'transition away from fossil fuels' agreement) was politically contentious and largely ineffective, delivering superficial agreements that catered more to geopolitical power dynamics than to any meaningful climate solutions. Such bureaucratic delays and diluted outcomes illustrate why humanity cannot afford to rely solely on multilateral cooperation. Ultimately, the fusion race is not merely a geopolitical contest; it is a vital competition for human survival and global prosperity. While competition may not always be harmonious or efficient, neither was the space race. Yet, the space race advanced humanity dramatically. Allowing the fusion race to unfold unhindered may again deliver swift, transformative solutions at a time when humanity urgently needs them. Our planet and our future depend on embracing this competitive drive. Oded Gour-Lavie is CEO and co-founder of nT-Tao, a compact fusion power company based in Israel.
Epoch Times
6 days ago
- Science
- Epoch Times
Will Nuclear Fusion Soon Be the ‘Norm?'
Commentary The dream of humanity to imitate the forces that created their habitat has been alive for at least as far back as the time when humans with a single language decided to build a city with a tower that reached the heavens. For such a people, 'nothing they plan will be impossible to them,' it is recorded. For at least the same time frame, humanity has sought comfort through technology. While primitive heat producers like coal and wood are still used today, the discovery that petroleum, natural gas, and even moving water could generate a newly discovered phenomenon known as 'electricity' transformed the industrial revolution into the modern era. Not until the 1930s did German scientists build on Enrico Fermi's discovery that neutrons could split atoms to recognize that splitting atoms would release significant energy—energy that could be used for both bombs and electricity generation. By the 1950s, scientists began building nuclear fission-based power plants that today provide about a tenth of the world's electricity. Scientists and engineers also began to envision the potential of nuclear fusion—the reaction of light atomic nuclei powers the sun and the stars. Since that time, they have worked feverishly, but with little success, to replicate this energy-rich reaction using deuterium and tritium. One group of scientists and engineers decided to try an alternative approach. Related Stories 5/22/2025 5/21/2025 Founded in 1998, California-based TAE Technologies has been developing a reactor that runs on proton-boron aneutronic fusion—that is, a fusion reaction that fuses a hydrogen nucleus with non-radioactive boron-11 instead of fusing hydrogen isotopes of deuterium and tritium. Their goal is to develop commercial fusion power with the cleanest-possible environmental profile. All efforts at fusion require chambers that can withstand temperatures of millions of degrees Celsius and immense pressure that are needed to fuse two isotopes together. To accomplish this requires huge amounts of energy—and until recently, more energy than the fusion produced. Most fusion researchers, including those building the ITER project being built in France, rely on a donut-shaped tokamak reactor chamber, in which a stream of plasma must be held away from its walls by electromagnets for any energy to be produced. The tokamak design uses a toroidal magnetic field to contain the hydrogen plasma and keep it hot enough to ignite fusion. Sadly, as with ITER, project costs have soared and timeframes have fallen by the wayside despite occasional breakthroughs. Over decades, tokamak designs became gigantic, with huge superconducting magnetic coils to generate containment fields; they also had huge, complex electromagnetic heating systems. Spurred by the failures of wind and solar to fully satisfy the desire for 'clean energy,' governments and private investors began investing heavily into fission and fusion projects. Oak Ridge, Tennessee, has tapped into a $60 million state fund intended to bolster both fission and fusion energy in atomic energy's American birthplace. New The old method used for a stellarator reactor relied on perturbation theory. The new method, which relies on symmetry theory, is a game changer. It can also be used to identify holes in the tokamak magnetic field through which runaway electrons push through their surrounding walls and greatly reduce energy output. The TAE Technology reactor is entirely different than any of the tokamak or stellarator fusion chambers. In 2017, the company introduced its fifth-generation reactor, named Norman, which was designed to keep plasma stable at 30 million C. Five years later the machine had proven capable of sustaining stable plasma at more than 75 million C. That success enabled TAE to secure sufficient funding for its sixth-generation Copernicus reactor and to envision the birth of its commercial-ready Da Vinci reactor. But in between, TAE developed Norm. Norm uses a different type of fusion reaction and a new reactor design that exclusively produces plasma using neutral beam injections. The TAE design dumps the toroidal field in favor of a linear magnetic field that is based on the 'field-reversed configuration' (FRC) principle, a simpler, more efficient way to build a commercial reactor. Instead of massive magnetic coils, FRC makes the plasma produce its own magnetic containment field. The process involves accelerating high-energy hydrogen ions and giving them a neutral charge, then injecting them as a beam into the plasma. That causes the beams to be re-ionized as the collision energy heats the plasma to set up internal toroidal currents. Norm's neutral beam injection system has cut the size, complexity, and cost, compared to that of Norman, by up to 50 percent. But not only is an FRC reactor smaller and less expensive to manufacture and operate, says TAE, it can also produce up to 100 times more fusion power output than a tokamak—based on the same magnetic field strength and plasma volume. The FRC reactor also can run on proton-boron aneutronic fusion, which, instead of producing a neutron it produces three alpha particles plus a lot of energy. The fewer neutrons also do less damage to the reactor; the energy being released as charged particles is easier to harness. Less shielding is required, and, perhaps best of all, boron-11 is relatively abundant and not radioactive. So, while 'Norm' may not be the final step in developing commercial fusion energy, TAE's hope is that fusion energy will the 'norm' as early as the mid-1930s. FRC technology has materially de-risked Copernicus, according to TAE CEO Michi Binderbauer. If Norm is as advertised, it will accelerate the pathway to commercial hydrogen-boron fusion—a safe, clean, and virtually limitless energy source. But is humanity ready for free energy to be the 'norm?' From Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Yomiuri Shimbun
19-05-2025
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
3 of Japan's Nuclear Fusion Institutes to Receive ¥10 Billion in Funding, as Govt Aims to Speed Up Research
From ITER's website A rendering of a tokamak fusion reactor The government aims to significantly improve the ability of three core institutes to research nuclear fusion, hoping to move up the timeline on powering the grid with fusion. It will spend about ¥10 billion on equipment needed for experiments, such as devices to examine the durability of reactors. Private companies will also be able to use the new equipment, with the government seeking to place Japan ahead of the international competition. The Yomiuri Shimbun In nuclear fusion, a reaction that occurs inside the sun, atomic nuclei are joined together, releasing vast amounts of energy. Scientists estimate that one gram of nuclear fuel could, through fusion, produce the same amount of energy as is released from burning eight tons of oil. Compared to nuclear fission, which is how nuclear power is currently generated, nuclear fusion has a lower risk of going out of control and could be safer. Nuclear fusion also emits no carbon dioxide, and competition to develop fusion as an energy source is expected to intensify around the globe. There are three major kinds of fusion reactors. In Japan, all three approaches are being pursued by the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST), the National Institute for Fusion Science and the University of Osaka's Institute of Laser Engineering. But the research projects at these institutes are still in the experimental stage, and it is not clear when their fusion technologies will be ready for practical use. That is why the Education, Sports, Culture, Science and Technology Ministry and the Cabinet Office plan to improve the research capabilities of the three institutes through an injection of about ¥10 billion this fiscal year. The plan includes improvements to equipment at the QST's Rokkasho Fusion Institute. The government aims to accelerate future experiments by the three institutes and put the three types of fusion reactors into practical use as soon as possible. In concrete terms, the funds will go toward building equipment for examining the durability of devices that convert energy produced by nuclear fusion into heat. They will also go toward improvements in laser devices for heating nuclear fuel. In recent years, startups have been launched in Japan and abroad that aim to commercialize fusion. As a result, private funding has flowed into research and development projects, which had been led by governments. In the United States, highly influential companies that have attracted funds are moving quickly to develop nuclear fusion technologies. To help the industry grow, the Japanese government will open up the institutes' upgraded facilities to the private sector. By doing so, the government aims to allow private companies to conduct experiments that need massive devices that would be difficult for them to build on their own. It also expects firms will test technologies for maintaining nuclear fusion reactions over a long period. The government is set to revise its national strategy policy on pursuing the use of nuclear energy as a power source. It will put forward a goal of introducing fusion in the 2030s, up from around 2050 in the current plan. Since the strength of the private sector will be needed to achieve this goal, the government plans to make the three institutes a base for collaboration among business, government and academia. To generate power using fusion, nuclear fuels, such as deuterium and tritium, are heated to 100 million C or higher to cause the atoms to join together. Energy discharged from the reaction is converted into heat to generate electricity. The three main reactor types are the tokamak, which confines extremely hot plasma to trigger a fusion reaction; the stellarator, which functions in the same way; and laser reactors, which heat nuclear fuel with laser beams.
