Major scientific breakthrough brings world closer to clean energy

WASHINGTON D.C. (WVLT) - Scientists are celebrating a significant energy breakthrough involving nuclear fusion. Researchers have been studying this since the 1950s, and it duplicates the process that powers the sun.

“Simply put, this is one of the most impressive scientific feats of the 21st century,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said.

The idea is to have a limitless, clean source of power that would end our reliance on fossil fuels. This breakthrough is a major step forward.

“This really, a major breakthrough in the science that we have been studying for the last 60 years,” said Livia Casali, Nuclear Engineering Professor at the University of Tennessee.

Department of Energy officials said scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California started a nuclear fusion reaction last week that created more energy than it used.

“It’s the first time it has ever been done in a laboratory. Anywhere. In the world,” Granholm said.

Fusion is the energy that powers the sun. The reaction creates incredible amounts of energy and heat.

Scientists say harnessing that energy is a huge step towards clean energy.

“This is our future. This is what’s going to save mankind. Because nuclear fusion is clean, it’s safe, it doesn’t have any waste,” Professor Casali said.

Casali believes that energy could eventually be used to power cars and other forms of transportation.

She said the energy density produced by fusion is a million times larger than burning methane. But, scientists still have hurdles to clear before nuclear fusion can be commercialized.

“We will have to make our experiment cheaper,” Professor Casali explained. “Because running this experiment is very expensive.”

She said scientists would also have to refine the experiment to get more energy in return.

Officials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory said they would have a hand in advancing the technology, and they’re hopeful it could bring more investors to Knoxville who are interested in nuclear fusion.

Department of Energy officials acknowledge while this is an exciting breakthrough, nuclear fusion is still decades away from being commercialized.

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