Fusion as a power plant
NIF's laser shot released 3.15 MJ from 2.05 MJ of laser energy delivered to the target, the first scientific ignition, though the lasers drew far more from the wall. Tokamaks and stellarators, public and private, aim for net electricity in the 2030s. The remaining problems are engineering ones: materials that survive neutron bombardment, tritium breeding, and running continuously.
Closed December 2022, National Ignition Facility: target gain above 1.
What would settle it
Net electricity to the grid, metered
Sources
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