The newest push for clean energy will see the use of an ‘artificial sun’ which will use nuclear fusion for energy production. Researchers have indicated that the project will be operational by 2020.
China’s plan of creating an artificial sun that will be able to produce clean energy through nuclear fusion will be operational by 2020. The project was projected to have been completed by the end of this year.
In March, Chinese researchers working on the project indicated that they were in the process of unveiling the first large scale cost-effective nuclear fusion plant.
Proposal for development of the ‘artificial sun’
Since the announcement, what followed is a quiet period where little or no information was available about the progress of the project. China which is heavily dependent on coal technology and other unclean sources of energy, have been investing heavily in clean energy projects.
The researchers were able to provide an update in November by saying their project, nation’s HL-2M tokamak was still in progress. They indicated that the project would use the same reactions and processes that the sun uses. The project had been hailed as an artificial sun during its launching in March. The researchers also said that the project was projected to be operational by 2020, a milestone that experts say will be the first nuclear fusion energy source on earth.
Cost-effective way that can keep the plasma stable
For decades, scientists have always indicated that nuclear fusion may be the holy grail for clean energy on earth. However, the biggest challenge has been to come up with a cost-effective way that can keep the extremely hot plasma confined and stable long enough for fusion to occur.
However, China’s HL-2M tokamak is proving to be realistic for implementation. The ‘artificial sun’ as it is commonly known, will be able to provide almost a limitless source of energy once it comes into fruition. Once implemented, It will also lower the cost of energy significantly.
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