Energy for the Common Good (ECG) celebrates the joint achievement of MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) in our advancement towards commercial fusion energy. Their creation and successful test of the world’s strongest high temperature superconducting magnet shows that a tokamak can be built that achieves net energy (and more) with a footprint and cost that will be viable for commercial fusion power plants.
CFS is currently constructing SPARC, a demonstration device expected to surpass the net-energy threshold (Q>1) by a target of 2025. Success with SPARC will be succeeded with the building of ARC, a commercial ready device, to provide power from fusion energy.
2021 is proving to be significant in the advancement of fusion soon enough to make a difference in our climate crisis; soon enough to incent expanded commercial wind and solar development, knowing that an energy solution to their intermittency is coming. As subsequent milestones are reached by the multitude of commercially focused fusion companies, the likelihood of success reduces the risk of modernizing and expanding the US power grids to accept significantly more renewable produced power.
Scientists are doing their part to pave the way for fusion. Public, financial, and governmental support for this paradigm shifting technology is critical. It is critical on a timescale that requires a shift in the way new energy technology enters the market and matures.
We must aggressively pursue honest discussions about our climate crisis and the wholesale transition to clean energy if we are to avoid the worst of climate change. For fusion it is imperative that the world is offered education on what it is, the positive effects it will have on clean energy availability, and the risks it poses relative to other energy sources.
Fusion is not fission. The very challenges that have caused generations of physicists to strive to create this holy grail of energy demonstrate how difficult fusion is to create and sustain. Fission is a better-known nuclear technology and has its own track record of successes – delivering steady high level carbon free energy – and failures – meltdown, proliferation, significant high and low level radioactive wastes, and mounting costs. Fusion, while also derived through nuclear science and engineering, is the opposite of fission. Two lighter atomic nuclei are forced together creating a heavier nucleus thereby generating a very large amount of excess energy. There is no long-term radioactive waste produced, and a manageable amount of neutron activated material can be safely contained until it no longer presents a risk. One of the most significant differences between fusion and all other dense, steady-state energy sources is lack of need for any GHG emitting raw material fuel.
Fusion’s future is now in our hands. We must educate, investigate, regulate, and commercialize this critical new source of non-carbon energy.
Energy for the Common Good is fusion’s first advocacy NGO. We demand greater investment and investigation from the private and public sectors for this critical source while we pledge to be a source of honest information. We are building the public coalitions necessary to lead the health and safety discussions with the environmental and climate leaders whose trusted voices need to be engaged. The green energy leaders should know that fusion will expand—not compete with the necessary expansion of wind and solar.
ECG is building the societal tools needed to answer the doubts and concerns which have historically slowed new green energy sources in building their markets. We have a team of experts experienced in the introduction of new technologies with a track record of integrity in approach.
ECG is committed to ending our global need for carbon-based energy and to ensuring that this transition is to the benefit of the common good of all.