7/27/2019 A Challenge to America: Develop Fusion Power Within a
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A Challenge to America: Develop Fusion Power
Within a DecadeApril 2, 2013
NormanR.AugustineandGaryHart.
Americaseconomyandsecuritydependuponreliablesourcesofpower.Overthenextfewdecades,
almostallofthepowerplantsintheU.S.willneedtobereplaced,andAmericasdependenceonfossil
fuels presentsseriousnationalsecurityconcerns.
Theysapoureconomy,exacerbateclimatechange,
andconstrictourforeignpolicy.Ournewfoundboominnaturalgasandoilproductionwilleasebutnot
eliminatetheseunderlyingissues.
Theonlywaythatwecanresolvethesechallenges,includingreducinggreenhousegasemissionsina
timeframethatavoidstheworstconsequencesofclimatechange,istodevelopnext-generationsources
ofcleanbase loadpower. Inshort, Americaneedstoproduceenergy that
isclean, safe,secure and
abundant,andtodoitnow.
Energy from fusion has huge potential. Fusion produces no
greenhouse gases, and, unlike nuclear
fission, it does not produce long-lived radioactivewaste.
Further, there is no chance of a runaway
reactionthatcouldleadtoaFukushima-typemeltdownevent.Fusionenergyisalsovirtuallyunlimited.
It isproducedby fusing together two hydrogenatoms. Itwill
revolutionize the energy systemwhen
commercialized.
Butthereisamajorproblem:Americahasnotacceptedthechallenge.
Researchersinfusionenergyhavemadesignificantadvances,butprogresshasstalledbecauseofbudget
cutsandannualfundingfluctuations.Giventhecurrentsupportforfusionresearchanddevelopment,
commercializingfusionpowerremainsmanydecadesaway.Thiscannotandneednotbethecase.
The American Security Project, a nonpartisan national security
think tank, of which we are board
members,hasreleasedanewreport,FusionPower,a10-YearPlanfor
EnergySecuritythatdetails
howAmericacanacceleratefusiondevelopment.ThisgenerationsApolloprogramshouldbenewR&D
in fusion energy. We need a national commitment to develop
fusion power. This would mean
committing$30 billion over the next ten yearswith the goal
ofachievingdemonstration levels of
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fusionpower.Thiswillsetthestageforfull-scalecommercialpowerthatcandriveAmericanprosperity
forcenturiestocome.
Wecanbegintoday.Ifweareseriousaboutfusiondevelopment,thepresidentshouldappointafusion
power commissioner with the authority toorganize and streamline
the research, development, and
deploymentoffusionpower,especiallybydirectingnewareasofresearchanddevelopmentwithinour
nationallaboratories.Weknowthatanygovernmentprogramisplaguedwithoverlappingentitiesanddifferentbudgetauthorities.A
fusionpowercommissionercould cutthroughtheredtapeandavoid
bureaucraticdelays.
With new authorization from Congress, Americas scientists could
begin today to build the next
generationof facilities todevelopand provethe feasibilityof
fusion power. Our scientistsare ready
todaytobeginconstructingnewfusionfacilitiesthatcouldleadtheworldanddriveinnovation.Inshort
order,theycouldbeginconstructionofnewmachinesthatwouldshowhowtobuildandoperateareal
powerplantoperatedby fusion.Weknow that our economic competitors
inChinaand Russiahave
begunworkonsuchfacilities.Wecanbeatthem,butonlyifwecangettothestartingline.
WhyisactiononfusionfromCongressandthepresidentimportant?Whatwouldfusionreallygiveus?
Thetruthisthatfullycommercializingfusionenergywouldbringusmonumentalbenefits.
First, developing fusion energy will provide a clean source of
power that can fully break Americas
dependenceonfossilfuels.Thiswillprovidenumeroussecuritybenefits.Second,pioneeringanewhigh-
techindustrywillbringvastnewstreamsofrevenuetoAmericasleadingindustrialcompanies,creating
thousandsofnewjobsandstrengtheningouroveralleconomy.Third,developingfusionenergywilllead
to countless spinoff innovations in robotics, supercomputing,
andsuperconductingmaterials. Fourth,
pursuing fusion will be a clarion call to bright young American
minds to enter the critical fields of
science,technology,engineeringandmathematics.Finally,achievingpracticalfusionpowerwillcement
American leadership in solving some of the worlds critical
problems, and drive American
competitivenessinthecomingdecades.
Othercountriesalreadyhaveambitiousplanstodevelopfusion.TheU.S.willbeleftbehindifCongress
andthepresidentfailtomakethesmartinvestmentsweknowarenecessary.
Wecannotaffordnottomaketheneededinvestments.
ThisarticleisbyNormanR.AugustineandGaryHart.NormanAugustineisaboardmemberoftheAmericanSecurity
Project, a nonpartisanpublicpolicyandresearch organization,
andhasbeen chairman of theCouncil of theNational
AcademyofEngineering.GaryHartisaformersenatorfromColoradoandischairmanoftheAmericanSecurityProject.
URL:http://tinyurl.com/bwgosbt
