At the National Ignition Facility, omnidirectional high-powered lasers compress and heat a pellet of material to sufficient conditions to initiate nuclear fusion. The NIF can produce greater temperatures than even the center of the Sun, and in late 2022, the breakeven point was passed for the first time. (Credit: Damien Jemison/LLNL)

Ignition achieved! Nuclear fusion power now within reach

Nuclear fusion has long been seen as the future of energy. As the NIF now passes the breakeven point, how close are we to our ultimate goal?

For decades, the “next big thing” in terms of energy has always been nuclear fusion. In terms of sheer potential for power generation, no other energy source is as clean, low-carbon, low-risk, low-waste, sustainable, and controllable as nuclear fusion. Unlike oil, coal, natural gas, or other fossil fuel sources, nuclear fusion won’t produce any greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide as waste. Unlike solar, wind, or hydroelectric power, it’s not reliant on the availability of the needed natural resource. And unlike nuclear fission, there’s no risk of a meltdown and there’s no long-term radioactive waste produced.

Compared to all other alternatives, nuclear fusion is clearly the optimal solution for generating power on Earth. The biggest problem, however, has always been this: even though nuclear fusion reactions have been achieved by a variety of means, there’s never been a sustained fusion reaction that’s achieved what’s known as either:

• ignition,
• net energy gain,
• or the breakeven point,