Nuclear Fusion Reactor Launches in Japan
Helical Fusion, a Tokyo-based company, is working on developing the world's first steady-state nuclear fusion reactor. If successful, this pilot project could revolutionize clean energy by mimicking the fusion process that powers the sun, offering nearly unlimited, safe, and renewable energy without the radioactive byproducts of nuclear fission.
Existing nuclear reactors work by creating energy using fission — the nuclear reaction where atoms are split apart. However, scientists have long sought to create a nuclear reactor that harnesses the power of fusion, where two atoms slam together. A fusion reactor would mimic the same process that powers the sun and could theoretically produce virtually unlimited clean, renewable energy. Fusion also doesn't produce the same radioactive byproducts that fission does, making it safer overall.
CEO Takaya Taguchi aims to have a pilot reactor by 2034 and a commercial reactor by 2040. Despite past challenges in making fusion commercially viable, global advancements suggest a breakthrough is likely, while fission remains a key energy source with ongoing investment.
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