Pool global resources on renewable energy
Beijing has committed hundreds of billions of dollars towards renewable energy, including fusion power; the rest of the world should join this effort to confront the dangers of global warming
It seems only yesterday that China was bent on burning coal as its primary energy supply, regardless of the environmental consequences. Yet, in a much-praised abrupt U-turn, the country has gone full steam ahead into alternative energy sources. As part of this state-directed policy, mainland scientists have jumped into such unconventional sources as so-called flammable ice (frozen natural gas) deep under the sea, and fusion power.
The development of fusion technology – particularly the idea of applying it to nuclear reactors to generate clean energy – has been held back by the difficulty of containing the chain reaction so that heat is released in a slow and controllable manner.
But researchers have taken a significant step forward this month. Their latest experiment simulated plasma – which merges two hydrogen atoms with one helium in a process that releases a large amount of energy with heat three times hotter than the sun’s core – and controlled its reaction for more than 100 seconds. The project’s leaders believe the time they are able to control the release of energy from the plasma will double every 16 months.
This is, of course, a proof of concept. It’s still a long way – years if not decades – to making it safe and commercially viable.
Still, the search for reliable and environment-friendly energies must be a multipronged approach.
