Nuclear fusion

  Nuclear fusion occurs when two light nucleus fuse together to form a heavier nucleus, releasing energy.

Advantages

  • It creates much larger amount of energy compared to fission
  • Fusible materials are abundant in nature, e.g., hydrogen
  • It's waste products can be managed easily
  • Once ignited, it could go on longer than fission
  • Compared to others it is relatively carbon neutral

Limitations

  • It is much more difficult to create and sustains due to the need for great temperature and pressure
  • If gone wrong, it could destroy huge areas, e.g., hydrogen bombs
  • Technology still have a long way to go
  • Huge initial investment needed
  • Net energy gain have to be much larger to be viable

Way forward

  • Continued investment in R&D
  • International collaborations like ITER
  • Low interest and resource pooling
  • Sustained commercialization and profit recovery  
  • Technology sharing and knowledge dissemination 
 Mega projects like viable fusion reactors are necessary to achieve ambitious targets like carbon neutrality by 2070.

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