Fusion energy has gained momentum in 2023 after the successful laser-driven ignition at Lawrence Livermore Lab in December 2022.
As we look back at 2023, fusion has much to celebrate: Private and federal investment in research and development of fusion energy has increased. New fusion energy start-ups with diverse solutions are coming into the market. Fusion energy is now set to be regulated based upon the radioactivity of its waste, which identifies it as low level and places it next to producers such as nuclear medicine and particle accelerators. Major announcements from fusion companies indicate they are getting closer to deploying fusion energy to the grid within a few years instead of decades. The US and the UK entered a cooperation agreement on fusion energy in November. Then, at COP28, after the US announced its commitment to a globally inclusive fusion strategy, ECG co-founded Youth4Fusion, representing thousands of voices under 30 with fusion as the solution for the climate.
There are still hurdles to overcome, but the excitement around fusion energy this year is palpable. No wonder people are excited; fusion energy is the “holy grail of energy,” an unlimited production source because of its potential to create clean, continuous, and safe energy.
The worldwide release of Chris Nolan’s movie “Oppenheimer” this summer captured the public’s imagination and raised its awareness of nuclear fission history. Audiences did the “Barbenheimer” movie binge, indulging in contrasting and comparing the two movies. Pew and Gallup’s research showed the public ostensibly warming up to nuclear fission despite its well-known risks and fraught history. If the risks associated with nuclear fission remain unresolved, why would the public sentiment turn positive? We pondered whether the public discourse might be merging fusion energy and fission power under the term ‘nuclear,’ blurring the distinction between the two as if they were essentially the same.
On a purely scientific level, ‘nuclear’ refers to processes involving atoms and nuclei. In fission, atoms are split apart, while in fusion, atoms are fused together to generate energy. The regulatory and licensing approaches for fission are not appropriate for fusion because the chemical elements and their respective characteristics differ significantly. It is important to clarify that fusion energy is not the same as fission. ECG’s experience indicates conflating the two does a serious disservice to the deployment of fusion and decarbonization efforts.
To kick off 2024 and try to answer the questions posed in this blog, stay tuned for ECG’s January blog, where we will offer a deeper analysis of opinions toward these very different energy sources. We will answer questions on public sentiment around fusion and clarify why ECG believes it is important to separate fusion energy from nuclear fission in discourse. 2024 could be the year when fusion becomes more well known with clarity of fusion’s unique attributes as a brand new source of power unbeholden to the fossil and corporate power elites still controlling the climate dialogue and the future of our youth.
At ECG, we believe in expanding opportunities to foster energy equity and justice, working with those whose histories are contaminated by weapons testing, uranium, coal mining, natural gas fracking, oil drilling and, of course, GHG emissions. We empower youth, women, and all genders by informing them about fusion energy’s benefits for them, then with their engagement, take action in communities and constituencies, demonstrating this growing voice for commercial fusion energy for all.
If you like the work ECG is doing to ensure the democratization of fusion, energy equity and the integrity of fusion energy, please take a moment to make a donation here. Thank you.