Clean, Limitless Energy Exists. China Is Going Big in the Race to Harness It.
The New York Times • • business
Key Points:
- China is undertaking two massive and secretive fusion energy projects, including a large round structure with extensive arms and an X-shaped building discovered via satellite imagery.
- Fusion energy, which merges atoms to release vast amounts of energy, offers a clean, abundant power source without meltdown risks or long-lived radioactive waste.
- Fusion could provide near-limitless electricity to meet rising demands, including powering artificial intelligence, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels exacerbating climate change.
- Despite progress in laboratory experiments using magnets and lasers, achieving sustained fusion requires heating hydrogen to extreme temperatures and containing plasma long enough for energy release.
- China, the U.S., and other nations are competing to develop practical fusion reactors capable of reliably generating power for the electrical grid.
