Brian Bergstein at The Boston Globe speaks with Bob Mumgaard SM '15, PhD '15, CEO of MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems, about the company’s efforts to advance fusion technologies. “When the federal government said in 2012 that it would cut funding for the experimental fusion reactor on campus, the MIT researchers took that as an opportunity to develop new fusion techniques — which eventually formed the basis of CFS’s plans,” writes Bergstein.
The Economist chronicles the life and work of Prof. Nuno Loureiro, from his childhood in Portugal where he dreamed of becoming a scientist to his work at MIT as a “fusion pioneer” leading the Plasma Science and Fusion Center. “He walked into his classes beaming, ready to cover the blackboard with figures. He joked like a friend, but he worked his students vigorously, advising them that if they were not yet the best, they should strive to be. Failure was not to be feared, because it showed they were trying to tackle the really hard problems.”
Prof. Nuno F.G. Loureiro is remembered as a “brilliant ‘physicist’s physicist,’” who “pushed for revolutionary breakthroughs in the complex, arcane field of plasma science,” in a tribute by Boston Globe reporter Brian MacQuarrie. “Inside and outside the lab, Mr. Loureiro also was known for a charismatic leadership style that combined warmth, humor, and personal engagement in the relentless pursuit of excellence,” MacQuarrie writes. “Nuno represents what MIT treasures in its people,” notes Prof. Joseph Paradiso, “at the top of his game in research, but with a wide-ranging curious mind ready to grapple with new ideas.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a new method that can predict how plasma will behave in a tokamak reactor given a set of initial conditions, reports Gayoung Lee for Gizmodo. The findings “may have lowered one of the major barriers to achieving large-scale nuclear fusion,” explains Lee.
MIT spinoff Commonwealth Fusion System has made its first direct corporate power purchase agreement with Google, reports Timothy Gardner for Reuters. Google plans to buy 200 megawatts of fusion power from Commonwealth Fusion Systems’ first grid-scale fusion power plant in Chesterfield County, Virginia.
Newsweek reporter Tom Howarth spotlights MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems as they announced plans to “build the world's first grid-scale commercial nuclear fusion power plant” in Virginia. “The plant is expected to generate 400 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 150,000 homes or large industrial facilities,” writes Howarth.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinoff, plans to build “the nation’s first grid-scale fusion power plant in Virginia by the early 2030s,” reports Laura Vozzella and Gregory S. Schneider for The Washington Post. “Fusion is a long-sought source of power that can generate almost limitless energy by combining atomic nuclei,” they write. “It is unlike fission, the more common form of nuclear energy, in which the nucleus is split, and which generates large amounts of radioactive waste.”
MIT spinoff Commonwealth Fusion Systems has shared their plans “to build its first commercial power plant” in Virginia, reports Aaron Pressman for The Boston Globe. “Commonwealth aims to build a complete power plant with a fusion machine generating heat used to spin turbines and make 400 megawatts of electric power, enough to supply 150,000 homes, by the mid-2030s,” explains Pressman.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, an MIT spinout, has announced plans to “build its first fusion power plant in Virginia, with the aim of generating zero-emissions electricity there in the early 2030s,” reports Raymond Zhong for The New York Times. “The proposed facility is among the first to be announced that would harness nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun, to produce power commercially, a long-elusive goal that scientists have pursued for the better part of a century,” explains Zhong.
MIT spinout Commonwealth Fusion Systems has announced plans to build the “world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant in Virginia, to generate power by the early 2030s,” reports Timothy Gardner for Reuters. The project, “could revolutionize the global energy industry by tapping into a virtually limitless power source, similar to that which fuels the stars,” writes Gardner.
Writing for MarketWatch, Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab, examines how the revival of nuclear power could be beneficial for older workers with expertise in the industry. “The myth of older workers taking up space must end in every industry, but in a high-stakes sector such as nuclear power, older workers aren’t taking up space — they are a critical part of the future," writes Coughlin.
Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speaks with Nature reporter Davide Castelvecchi about how AI has increased energy demand and the future of nuclear energy.
Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speaks with Nature reporter Michael Greshko about the reopening of Three Mile Island, a former Pennsylvania nuclear power plant that will now be used to generate power for artificial intelligence. “It’s further confirmation of the value of nuclear, and, if the deal is right — if the price is right — then it makes business sense, as well,” says Buongiorno.
Prof. Jacopo Buongiorno speaks with ABC News reporter Julia Jacobo about the reopening of Three Mile Island, a former Pennsylvania nuclear power plant, to generate power for artificial intelligence. “Since building a new nuclear power plant can be so time consuming and expensive, extending the license of current plants or refurbishing and restarting those that have been recently shutdown is a very attractive proposition,” says Buongiorno.
Prof. R. Scott Kemp and Principal Research Scientist Charles Forsberg speak with Verge reporter Justine Calma about the nuclear proliferation concerns raised by the higher concentrations of uranium used in next-generation nuclear reactors. “We need to make sure that we don’t get in front of ourselves here and make sure that all the security and safety provisions are in place first before we go off and start sending [high-assay low-enriched uranium] all around the country,” says Kemp.