Commercial Fusion Powers Ahead
December 20, 2024
The Massachusetts-based company Commonwealth Fusion Systems has announced plans to build what it calls the world’s first commercial fusion power plant. To be built in Virginia, the plant is projected to go operational in the early 2030s. A promising prospect, to be sure. But Michael Ford argues in Issues that such private ventures will not be enough to address the varied challenges still surrounding this star-like energy source. The US government, he argues, should continue funding research at universities and national laboratories not only to answer key scientific unknowns but to foster a core future workforce and fully examine public security.