Can nuclear fusion be a safe and environmentally-friendly way of producing electricity?
Similar to traditional nuclear power, or fission, nuclear fusion can produce huge amounts of carbon-neutral energy. But there is one vital difference: no dangerous, long-lasting radioactive waste. Waste from nuclear fusion is only radioactive for 50–70 years, compared to the thousands of years of radioactivity that result from fission. “This is a long-term supply of energy,” says Professor Mike Dunne of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. “You can get a lot of energy from a small amount of fuel and the by-products are benign.” Raw materials for nuclear fusion – water and silicon – are plentiful and widespread on Earth. Nuclear fusion could also help meet international climate change targets. Current zero-carbon technologies are unlikely to meet our energy demands this century. Nuclear power is deeply unpopular while renewable energy sources – wind, solar and tidal – yield relatively little energy for their high cost. But nuclear fusion could render carbon dioxide-produci
