#commercial-fusion-timeline

#commercial-fusion-timeline

NASA has 30 days to kick off a program for a mid-power space reactor ready for launch by 2030. A lunar variant is required, as is an option for nuclear electric propulsion.

"The unfortunate part is that in order to be able to support an entire industrial base, you've got to have that whole supply chain node-matched in terms of capacity," Zach Detweiler, co-founder and CEO of Radify Metals, explained. He emphasized the importance of addressing the overlooked node that converts metal oxides into pure metals, which he refers to as the 'missing middle.'

"A more decentralized energy system, with a growing share of renewables and more market players, is structurally more resilient. Countries that invested in the energy transition are weathering this crisis with less economic damage, as they boost energy security, resilience and competitiveness."

The Strait of Hormuz - a narrow waterway through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil supply passes - has effectively closed to tanker traffic amid the escalating U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. Once again, the global economy is discovering the same uncomfortable truth: Modern energy security depends on supply chains that can break overnight.

Fusion power promises to supply the world with large amounts of clean heat and electricity, if researchers and engineers can solve some vexing challenges. At its core, fusion power seeks to harness the power of the Sun. To do that, fusion startups must figure out how to heat and compress plasma for long enough that atoms inside the mix fuse, releasing energy in the process.

The Natrium reactor, developed jointly by Bill Gates-backed TerraPower and GE Hitachi, is being built as part of the Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. It represents something genuinely new: a reactor designed from the ground up to complement renewable energy rather than compete with it.