Don't expect Trump Media's nuclear fusion power plant to generate electricity soon

"Trump Media - yup, the parent company of Truth Social - is the latest entrant in the near century-long race to develop a nuclear fusion power plant. It announced a merger agreement with fusion company TAE Technologies on Thursday, and a bold plan to break ground on the first utility-scale fusion plant some time in 2026. TAE doesn't plan to start generating power from its first plant until 2031,"

"Fusion is considered the 'Holy Grail' of clean energy technologies, and AI companies are salivating over it as a potential source of abundant electricity for data centers. But while a future fusion reactor might one day help solve some of humanity's headaches, it could just be wishful thinking to expect them to come to the rescue for data centers anytime soon."

"With fusion, scientists are trying to replicate the way stars create light and heat - atomic nuclei fuse together, generating a tremendous amount of energy. A fusion power plant could avoid the greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels that are causing climate change, as well as the radioactive waste that today's nuclear fission reactors create by splitting atoms apart to produce energy."

"President Donald Trump has made his disdain for clean energy clear by falsely calling climate change a "con job," ending tax incentives for renewables, and halting federal funding and permitting for solar and wind projects. But he has aligned himself with the tech broligarchy in trying to rush the development of new AI data centers. How to power these energy-hungry facilities has become a major hurdle for the industry, provoking pushback from communities across"

Trump Media announced a merger with TAE Technologies and plans to break ground on a utility-scale fusion plant in 2026, with the first power generation slated for 2031. The timeline remains highly ambitious and faces likely financial, regulatory, scientific, and engineering hurdles. Fusion aims to replicate stellar processes by fusing atomic nuclei to release large amounts of energy, offering potential abundant, low-carbon electricity without the long-lived radioactive waste of fission. AI companies view fusion as a promising source to power energy-hungry data centers. Political positions against renewables and rapid AI expansion have intensified debates over siting and community impacts.

Read at The Verge