'Milestone for clean energy': US announces major nuclear fusion breakthrough

The United States Department of Energy announced on Tuesday that scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California were successful in generating a fusion reaction between two hydrogen atoms and were also able to maintain the reaction in a controlled environment. This was a major breakthrough in the field of nuclear fusion and according to CNN, this can lead to a renewable source of energy that can become functional in the future. The announcement came as good news for environmentalists who believe that this form of energy can slowly stop the reliance on fossil fuels.

"This is a great day," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at a news conference in Washington.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

“Today, we tell the world that America has achieved a tremendous scientific breakthrough ... we invested in our national labs and we invested in fundamental research, and tomorrow will continue for a future that is powered, in part by fusion energy,” she added according to the Associated Press.

This was the first time that net energy gain was achieved by nuclear fusion in a controlled environment, according to Reuters. While 2.1 megajoules was used to conduct the experiment, the reaction was able to produce 2.5 megajoules of energy – a first for any experiment. This is somewhat similar to the reaction that takes place inside the sun and as a result, this energy can be valuable in the future.

“On December 5, 2022, a team from DOE’s@Livermore_Labmade history by achieving fusion ignition.” it wrote. “Also known as scientific energy breakeven, the experiment produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it,” the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratorysaid on Twitter.