Hardware Podcasts

The Fuss About Fusion

EE Times Current · 10 Dec 2021 · 45m

What this episode covers

Melanie Windridge, a plasma physicist and lead author of the Fusion Industry Association's 2021 report, explains why commercial fusion energy has attracted over $4 billion in private investment in just five years. She identifies four key drivers: mature plasma science, emerging technologies like high-temperature superconductors, climate urgency, and venture capital. Windridge details how companies like Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Helion Energy are using these technologies to build smaller, faster prototypes, aiming to deliver grid electricity by the 2030s despite remaining challenges in materials and tritium breeding.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
TAE, Helion Energy, Fusion Industry Association, Tokamak Energy, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Materials
High-temperature superconductors

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