Researchers from MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) are working on making commercial nuclear fusion a reality, reports Juandre for Popular Mechanics. “CFS will build [the tokamak] SPARC and develop a commercial fusion product, while MIT PSFC will focus on its core mission of cutting-edge research and education,” says Prof. Dennis G. Whyte, director of the PSFC.
Research engineer Paul Woskov speaks with Bloomberg Radio host Tom Moroney and Joe Shortsleeve about his work with Quaise Energy in developing a laser to drill holes into the earth. “There is a lot of heat contained within our planet. The amount of heat that is present, if tapped, could supply all of our energy needs for several million years,” says Woskov.
Researchers from MIT and MIT spinoff Quaise Energy speak with Boston Globe reporter David Abel about their work developing a new way to drill as deep as 12 miles into the Earth’s crust, using a special laser, which could provide a way to tap the geothermal energy in the rocks. “This is game-changing,” Woskov said. “We now have the potential to exploit an energy source that . . . could unleash the virtually limitless supply of energy beneath our feet.”
Science World reporter Hailee Romain spotlights Prof. Anne White, head of the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering, and her research on nuclear fusion in a piece highlighting the groundbreaking contributions of women in science. White believes “nuclear fusion has the potential to become a revolutionary energy source and is developing ways to make that possible,” writes Romain.
Quaise Energy, a startup out of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center, has developed a millimeter wave drilling system to access layers of rock that reach over 700 degrees Fahrenheit, making geothermal power more accessible, reports Adele Peters for Fast Company. “Wind and solar [power] take up quite a bit of land,” writes Peters. “If geothermal power can be affordable anywhere, it could help fill an important gap in getting to 100% renewable electricity.”
MIT scientists have concluded that nuclear fusion can be used to power electricity grids within the next decade, reports David Abel for The Boston Globe. “It may sound like science fiction, but the science of fusion is real, and the recent scientific advancements are game-changing,” says Dennis Whyte, director of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
Financial Times reporter Tom Wilson writes that researchers from MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) have successfully demonstrated the use of a high-temperature superconductor, which engineers believe can allow for a more compact fusion power plant. “It’s the type of technology innovation that you know shows up every once in a while in a given field,” CFS chief executive, Bob Mumgaard, tells Wilson.
Researchers at MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center and Commonwealth Fusion Systems speak with The New Yorker’s Rivka Galchen about the history of fusion research and the recent test of their large high-temperature superconducting electromagnet. “I feel we proved the science. I feel we can make a difference,” says MIT alumna Joy Dunn, head of manufacturing at CFS. “When people ask me, ‘Why fusion? Why not other renewables,’ my thinking is: This is a solution at the scale of the problem.”
Motherboard reporter Matthew Gault spotlights how scientists from MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems developed a large high-temperature superconducting magnet that can create a magnetic field of 20 tesla, “a breakthrough that paves the way for carbon-free power.”
WBUR’s Bruce Gellerman explores how researchers from MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems successfully demonstrated “the world's strongest high-temperature superconducting magnet, putting them a step closer towards a workable fusion reactor.” The advance “provides reason for hope that in the not-too-distant future, we could have an entirely new technology to deploy in the race to transform the global energy system and slow climate change,” says Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research.
Scientists from MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems have performed a successful test of the world’s strongest high temperature superconducting magnet, a crucial step in creating net positive energy from a fusion device, reports the Associated Press.
Scientists at MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems have cleared a major hurdle in their efforts to achieve net energy from fusion, successfully creating a 20 tesla magnetic field using the high-temperature superconducting magnet they developed, reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “This test provides reason for hope that in the not too distant future we could have an entirely new technology to deploy in the race to transform the global energy system and slow climate change,” says Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research.
CNBC reporter Catherine Clifford writes that researchers from MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems have successfully demonstrated the high-temperature superconducting electromagnet they developed, creating a 20 tesla magnetic field. “This magnet will change the trajectory of both fusion science and energy, and we think eventually the world’s energy landscape,” says Dennis Whyte, director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.
MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems scientists have created a 20 tesla magnetic field using a large, high temperature superconducting fusion magnet, a step towards creating a fusion power plant, reports Stephen Jewkes for Reuters. The researchers aim “to use the technology to build a commercially viable fusion power plant to generate zero-emission electricity.”
A series of papers by MIT researchers demonstrates how their design for a new nuclear fusion reactor should work, reports Oscar Schwartz for The Guardian. “Fusion seems like one of the possible solutions to get ourselves out of our impending climate disaster,” says Martin Greenwald, deputy director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center.