Vorsichtiger Optimismus herrscht bei den Plänen für das weltweit erste Kernfusionskraftwerk

From the article

>While nuclear power plants have become ubiquitous, they all operate using nuclear fission — but one energy startup has plans to change this. Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), a spinoff branch of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has announced plans to build the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant. If successful, this would mark the completion of a longstanding goal in the scientific community.

>The plant is set to be located in Chesterfield County, Virginia, and will infuse “400 megawatts of steady fusion power into the state’s electrical grid starting in the early 2030s,” CFS said in a [press release](https://blog.cfs.energy/cfs-will-build-its-first-arc-fusion-power-plant-in-virginia/). Unlike nuclear fission, which splits atoms to create energy, nuclear fusion generates power by combining atoms. It is best known as the [process that powers the sun](https://theweek.com/energy/1019279/heres-what-the-us-achieved-with-nuclear-fusion-and-why-it-matters). CFS’ reactor would generate this fusion reaction using a donut-shaped device called a tokamak.

>Power plants have never used this process because it is extremely difficult, requiring temperatures over 180 million degrees Fahrenheit and immense amounts of pressure and energy, according to the [International Atomic Energy Agency](https://www.iaea.org/bulletin/what-is-fusion-and-why-is-it-so-difficult-to-achieve#:~:text=Reaching%20for%20the%20stars,through%20global%20partnerships%20and%20collaboration.). As such, there are mixed feelings on whether CFS’ plan will be sustainable in the long run, especially with green technology on a [constant trajectory of change](https://theweek.com/tech/microsoft-three-mile-island-nuclear-power-big-tech).

So people in Virginia should get ready for blackouts and eventually to glow at night when the plant fails. Looks like a win win to me.

BTW is NJ outside the fallout zone?

This would be a game changer if it works on schedule. They should’ve stuck with the 20-40 year prediction as per usual. Bet they had to hype it up to fool investors.

They don’t even have an approved design, no permits, no contractors, no financing etc. Conventional nuclear plants take roughly 10 years to prepare 10 years to build, a completely new concept will take longer if it works at all.