The Future of Energy: Is Nuclear Fusion set to Revolutionise the Grid Sooner than Anticipated?

In a remarkable leap from science fiction to science fact, commercial nuclear fusion has become a reality in less than a decade. The West’s political class, even those well-informed, is largely unaware of the transformative advancements in superconductors, lasers, and advanced materials reshaping the economics of fusion power.

Recent Breakthroughs:

1. First Light Fusion, a British company, shattered the world record for pressure at the Sandia National Laboratories in the US. They achieved a staggering 1.85 terapascal—five times the pressure at the Earth’s core.
   

2. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, based near Boston, broke the world record for a large-scale magnet with a field strength of 20 tesla. This breakthrough surpasses the threshold necessary for producing net energy (a “Q factor” above 1.0).
   

The Magnet Revolution:

• Traditional low-temperature magnets, made of niobium alloys, operated near absolute zero at -270°C.
  

• The new high-temperature superconducting magnets use rare earth barium copper oxide (ReBCO) and operate at 20 kelvins (20 K). This radical design combines superconductivity with extreme magnetic power, resulting in a “multiple order-of-magnitude increase” in fusion capability.
  

• Due to these stronger magnets, the cost per watt of a fusion reactor has been reduced by almost 40%.

Changing the Narrative:

• It’s time to discard the old joke that fusion is perpetually “30 years away.”
  

• Polls indicate that insiders believe fusion will generate grid electricity at viable costs by 2035 (65%) and even more optimistically by 2040 (90%).
  

• The Fusion Industry Association suggests that some members could achieve this milestone as early as 2030.

If these projections hold, our energy assumptions need a serious rethink. Britain’s planned gas plants may become obsolete before they are even constructed.

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