Making fusion energy production viable could change humanity

Fusion energy – sometimes referred to as the energy of the sun and stars, as it follows the same generation process – can make a very significant contribution to the widespread availability of energy across the planet and help solve the challenge of decarbonisation.

Fusion energy – also known as controlled nuclear fusion – is highly efficient: 60 kg of fusion fuel can provide the same amount of energy as 250.000 tonnes of gasoline.

In a simple way, it can be said that fusion works by combining light atoms, like hydrogen, into heavier products, like helium. The reaction releases enormous amounts of energy, which is then captured and converted into usable electricity by a fusion engine. It is different from nuclear fission energy, which releases energy by splitting an atom in two.

a huge potential

The fuel needed to generate fusion power is plentiful across the planet, reducing the risk of any geopolitical tension, as it is extracted from seawater and the Earth's crust. There's enough fuel for millions of years.

Fusion does not emit greenhouse gases, which is why it makes a decisive contribution to decarbonizing the atmosphere. The potential is huge because power generation is responsible for approximately 30% of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Fusion machines are inherently safer, present a very low risk to nearby populations, and do not generate long-lasting waste, unlike the nuclear waste produced by nuclear energy. The energy produced has the potential to complement renewable energies, providing baseload electricity. Renewable energy, wind and solar are currently the best forms of energy production without carbon emissions. However, they are “non-dispatchable” energies. They generate energy when there is sun and wind, which is then largely non-storable. When there is no wind or sun, there is a lack of energy. Therefore, fusion power could turn clean, zero-carbon power grids into permanently available power grids, complementing wind and solar power.

The challenge

Building fusion power generation machines has not been technically feasible, as more energy has been needed to produce it than can be extracted in the process. Additionally, the creation of the high temperature (50 million degrees Celsius) and pressure conditions necessary to generate fusion energy requires great scientific and technological capacity, namely large magnets, materials capable of withstanding very high temperatures. There are then still industrialization challenges for the mass production of fusion energy.

However, the most recent scientific and technological advances make fusion energy a very real possibility and already having an impact on the 2050 targets. Techno-economic modeling for European grids shows that this energy could be the cheapest of all clean energy by 2050.

Government programs were strengthened. ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (the largest scientific organization in the field of fusion energy) has €40 billion available. Additionally, government programs are now being complemented by a large wave of private investors with amounts in excess of €4 billion.

LBC at Fusion for Energy

Fusion for Energy (F4E), based in Barcelona and with offices in France and Germany, is the European Union (EU) organization that manages Europe's contribution to the Broader Approach (an EU partnership with Japan to develop three R&D projects) and for ITER (partnership between seven stakeholders: China, South Korea, Europe, USA, India, Japan, Russia, which represents half of the world's population and about 80% of global GDP).

Europe is responsible for almost half of the project. F4E's objective is to realize the potential of fusion energy in Europe through research and development projects, the development of demonstration fusion reactors for further industrialization and the provision of technical expertise to partners in academia, research and industry. .

Since 2017, LBC has been working on the design and automation of F4E's organizational and operational processes. According to the CTO of LBC, Nuno Franca, “in an initial phase the work was carried out by the LBC team at the F4E headquarters in Barcelona. With Covid-19, work began to be carried out essentially remotely. Productivity increased and we were able to incorporate resources from other countries more easily”.

LBC has process automation experience in more than 50 projects in countries such as Belgium, Brazil, Spain, USA, Mexico, United Kingdom, in addition to Portugal and the PALOP - African Countries of Portuguese Official Language