A study co-authored by MIT professors Dennis Whyte and Andrew W. Lo proposes a framework for understanding what's needed to make fusion energy commercially viable in the marketplace. The method considers the physical inputs needed to sustain controlled fusion energy production, as well as the cost of building power plants that can compete in energy markets. 'It's all the things that come along with finding, allocating, and spending money at this scale,' says Whyte, a professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT and a key driver of the field's progress, who co-authored the paper. 'This is critical to what we do. We should look at the economics. If we want this technology to actually be meaningful in the world economy, we have to start getting straight with ourselves about these topics.' Fusion energy harnesses the reaction that powers the stars: the fusion of light nuclei. It is often referred to as 'plasma fusion,' as the fusion reactions generate fuel in a plasma state,...
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