Time for The Hustle’s best Bill Nye impression (courtesy of a poli sci major).
If we ever crack it, nuclear fusion could provide a limitless source of carbon-free energy.
It produces 4m times more energy than oil, coal or gas, and 4x more than nuclear fission — which comes with the scary downside of radioactive waste. But scientists have never figured out how to do it.
Last week, the US and 6 other partners — including Russia, China, and the EU — broke ground on the ITER Project, the largest nuclear fusion facility to date.
The first trial, which involves burning plasma, is scheduled for December 2025.
Big fossil-fuel companies are getting into the game, too: Chevron, Equinor, and Eni have invested in the fusion startup Zap Energy.
Also funded by the US Energy Department, Zap says it’s zipping to the “shortest path to commercially viable nuclear fusion.”