Fusion energy Breakthrough

In News

• Recently, Scientists in the United States have achieved a net gain in energy for the first time from a nuclear fusion reaction which is considered as the most dependable source of energy in future.
  • The experiment was conducted at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. 

More about the news

• Different Methods: 
  • Scientists use high-energy laser beams to achieve these temperatures which is also called inertial fusion. 
  • At the international collaborative project in southern France called ITER in which India is a partner used very strong magnetic fields for the same purpose which is the second method of producing this energy. 
    • The ITER project is expected to demonstrate the viability of a commercially scalable nuclear fusion reactor between 2035 and 2040.
  • Some countries are trying laser-based inertial fusion as well.
• It is relatively easier to attain break-even energy levels through inertial fusion compared to magnetic fusion.

What is fusion technology?

• Meaning: It is a powerful way of harnessing the immense energy trapped in the nucleus of an atom.
• Background: Attempts to master the fusion process have been going on at least since the 1950s, but it is incredibly difficult and is still at an experimental stage.
• Difference in both the processes:

• Fission Process: The nuclear energy currently in use across the world comes from the fission process in which the nucleus of a heavier element is split into those of lighter elements in a controlled manner. 
• Fusion Process: Here, the nuclei of two lighter elements are made to fuse together to form the nucleus of a heavier atom.
  • The fusion of two nuclei of a heavier isotope of hydrogen, called tritium produces at least four times as much energy as the fission of a uranium atom which is the normal process of generating electricity in a nuclear reactor. 
  • Fusion is also a carbon-free source of energy and has negligible radiation risks.
• A large amount of energy is released in both these processes, but the energy is more in fusion than fission.

Major Challenge

• Requirement of huge energy: Fusion reactions happen only at very high temperatures which is 10 times the temperature that exists at the core of the Sun and creating such an extreme environment in a laboratory requires huge amounts of energy.
• Lower energy in these experiments: The energy released in such experimental fusion reactions have been lower than what is consumed to create the enabling high temperatures.
• Future potential: Use of the fusion process for generating electricity at a commercial scale is still two to three decades away.
• Shorter time for the experiment: The fusion reactions currently being run in labs last for barely a few seconds. Those based on laser beams run for even shorter times. It is difficult to sustain such extreme high temperatures for prolonged periods. 

Way forward

• Obtaining net energy gain is a very important step but we are still far away from reactor grade fusion reactions.
• Several countries like: China, Japan, UK and South Korea, are working on this technology separately as well, apart from collaborating at ITER. 
• Recently, UK-based JET laboratory: which uses magnetic fusion, has improved its own previous record for energy produced from a fusion reaction. 

Source: IE