American project, revolution in nuclear energy production to light up the world

The US state of Virginia could become the first country in the world to build a nuclear power plant that will produce energy on an industrial scale. At least this is stated in an announcement by the startup company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), writes A2 CNN.

The project aims to produce clean energy and generate power for the grid by early 2030. The plant, to be built near Richmond, Virginia, is expected to produce 400 megawatts, enough to power about 150,000 homes, according to the head of CFS, Bob Mumgaard.

"This will be the first time that nuclear power on this scale will be available for the grid globally," Mumgaard said. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin called the development "a historic moment for Virginia and the world."

The project represents an important step towards the commercialization of nuclear fusion. This process involves fusing atoms together to create powerful energy, using hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe. A special pancake-shaped machine called a tokamak is used for this technology.

Nuclear fusion is considered the ideal source of energy: it is virtually limitless, produces no planet-warming pollution and, unlike current nuclear technology - where nuclear energy is obtained after a neutron collides with a larger atom, causing it to split into smaller atoms - leaves no long-term hazardous residues. However, the transition from laboratory experiments to practical use has been challenging for decades.

CFS, a company spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2018, has raised more than $2 billion in funding and aims to produce its first plasma — the hot gas where the fusion reaction takes place — by 2026. After that , is expected to achieve net energy production from fusion.

The project site is the James River Industrial Center, an area owned by Dominion Energy, which will provide technical assistance and access to the power grid. CFS said it chose the country for its growing economy, skilled workforce and focus on clean energy.

This is just the beginning, as CFS aims to build thousands of such plants in the future. However, the process is not expected to be easy. As Mumgaard pointed out, "there will be obstacles, but now we have a concrete place to start the next chapter of the fusion journey." (A2 Televizion)