A Fusion Breakthrough May Be Announced Tuesday

Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab are hoping to a announce a “major scientific breakthrough” Tuesday morning that will reportedly be the first ever net energy gain from a controlled fusion reaction.

If true, this would be a key turning point in the decades-long quest to produce energy from the same forces that power our sun, and that can do so without the carbon emissions from fossil fuels or the radioactive waste created by nuclear fission.

The Financial Times (FT) first reported Sunday that scientists at the Livermore lab’s National Ignition Facility have finally reached the landmark milestone.

A Livermore lab spokesperson told me via email Monday that “analysis is still ongoing and we expect to conclude that later today. We look forward to sharing more on Tuesday when that process is complete.”

A press conference will be livestreamed starting at 10 a.m. ET on the Department of Energy website on Tuesday.

Before we get too far, it’s important to note that there have been false alarms of this milestone being achieved in the past. We thought we were there nearly a decade ago, but what first seemed like a breakthrough was more like a tiny baby step in the right direction… perhaps to the giant stride that may be announced Tuesday.

The FT says it spoke with three people with knowledge of a recent experiment at the National Ignition Facility, which produced 120 percent of the amount of energy that went in to powering the huge laser that triggers the fusion reaction.

Again, if true, this would be a massive leap from previous results that produce closer to 70%. In other words, it could be that scientists have gone from getting only about two-thirds of the energy out of the experiment compared to what they put into it, to generating a twenty percent surplus of energy.

This has still not officially been announced, but we’ll know more in less than 24 hours.