USA to announce global fusion strategy at COP28

The USA is set to announce a global nuclear fusion strategy at the upcoming COP28 summit, Reuters reported on Monday.

The announcement aims to speed commercialisation of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, which in August 2023 tested for a second time net energy gain through a fusion reaction at the National Ignition Facility in California, USA.

The results were higher than the first test in December 2022 that yielded 3.15 megajoules of energy after the laser delivered 2.05 megajoules to the target.

Italian energy giant Eni is currently working on four fusion research partnerships in Italy and the USA, including the one with Commonwealth Fusion Systems.

The fusion-based company and Massachusetts Institute of Technology spin-out plans to have a reactor that will break even in terms of how much energy is released to create a commercially viable and modular fusion plant by 2025.

The plant would be viable in the early 2030s and is meant to operate in conjunction with other renewable sources such as wind and solar energy.

The fusion process differs from nuclear fission by combining atoms rather than splitting them.

COP28 runs from November 30 to December 12, 2023, in Dubai, UAE.