Fusion energy's potential for unlimited clean energy makes it a tantalizing prospect, and researchers around the world are making efforts to advance the groundbreaking technology.
Now, one piece of software could help those experts collaborate in efforts to build operational fusion power plants.
San Diego's General Atomics' Fusion Synthesis Engine, or FUSE could become a software lingua franca of sorts, helping nuclear energy developers from around the world to share ideas, according to a news release from GA.
FUSE is billed as a "state-of-the-art, open-source" software program that's akin to a free cheat sheet for fusion scientists. The software includes key information needed to work on nuclear projects, including plasma physics, engineering, and cost analysis, per the GA report.
"Releasing FUSE is a bold and exciting step that offers a powerful tool to the entire fusion community," Wayne Solomon, vice president of GA's magnetic fusion energy division, said in the release. "This platform encourages teamwork and new ideas."
Fusion energy taps the same process at work inside the sun. It differs from fission, the type of nuclear reaction used in the world's 440 plants, in a couple of key ways. Fusion doesn't produce long-lasting radioactive waste, and the energy is made by the combination of atoms, instead of splitting them, per the U.S. Energy Department and the World Nuclear Association.
Fusion energy experts are working in labs around the world to perfect a sustainable reaction with a unit that can withstand incredible heat. Breakthroughs, including one from Europe involving temperatures 10 times hotter than the sun's core, have recently been announced.
FUSE is intended to bring insight from these projects — from East to West — together. The software can be downloaded and operated at each lab's computer stations, according to GA.
"By making FUSE available to everyone, we're not just advancing our own developments — we're giving others the ability to build on it, with the goal of accelerating discoveries throughout the entire field," Solomon said in the release.
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FUSE uses machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, to expedite simulations, "making it useful for improving plant designs and reducing uncertainties," GA's theory and computational science manager Orso Meneghini added.
Even fission is gaining refreshed interest. Microsoft recently announced that it is working on a project to reopen part of the infamous Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania to offset power used by its energy-hogging data centers.
That project, and fission in general, isn't without critics. Colorado physicist Amory Lovins told The Cool Down that renewable projects harnessing energy from the wind and sun are cheaper, more feasible solutions to meet "flat-load" demand. Lovins founded RMI, a clean energy think tank.
At GA, the researchers are confident that FUSE will lead to a game-changing innovation, thanks in part to idea-sharing.
"FUSE could have a big impact on the future of fusion energy," Meneghini said in the news release.
Importantly, you can contribute to cleaner air now, while we wait for nuclear experts to figure out fusion energy. Switching to electric yard tools is cleaner and cheaper in the long run, as one option. The quieter machines can even save you almost $200 a year in fuel and maintenance costs.
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