This month may be remembered for an exciting development in the future of clean, sustainable energy, as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida joined President Joe Biden in announcing a partnership between the United States and Japan to further the development and commercialization of nuclear fusion.
During the summit, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk and Japan's minister of education, sports, science, and technology, Masahito Moriyama, met to discuss the future of fusion.
Fusion is different from fission, which is the process of splitting atoms that energizes today's nuclear power plants. Instead of splitting an atom, fusion combines two light atoms to form a single heavier one, which releases massive amounts of energy.
Fusion could create several times more energy than fission, and it doesn't have the radioactive byproducts that fission does, which is one of the reasons harnessing nuclear fusion is so critical. It could create a much safer solution for humans in the future.
It also has the potential to provide carbon-free electricity and could even replace dirty energy sources like oil and coal.
In 2022, scientists in a California lab achieved what is known as "fusion ignition" — a reaction that generates at least as much energy as it requires to fuse atoms. Last year, scientists were able to replicate this milestone and achieve a higher energy yield.
Progress has been made in recent years to make nuclear reactors safer and more accessible to smaller communities, replacing some of the need for dirty energy sources. However, nuclear fusion would still offer a safer option in the future.
Testing and development of nuclear fusion has been underway for decades, but this new partnership between Japan and the United States is an effort to accelerate the progress. Part of the mission will include expanding the work and communication between U.S. and Japanese universities, national laboratories, and private companies.
Experts in the fusion industry are supportive of this partnership. "Fusion is too important for needless competition: like-minded countries should work together towards the common goal," said Andrew Holland, the head of the Fusion Industry Association based in Washington.
In a joint statement released by the White House, Biden and Kishida said, "We are further leading the way in developing and deploying next generation clean energy technology."
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