Fortune: Nuclear fusion is the tech that could power AI and save the planet—if it ever workshttps://fortune.com/2025/05/07/nuclear-fusion-energy-ai-sam-altman-helion-pacific-commonwealth-timelines/The article pours some cold water on fusion companies' promises of commercial power soon.
In a news release, Lockheed attributed the reach-forward losses on the aeronautics project to continued design, integration, and test challenges that “had a greater impact on schedule and costs than previously estimated.” The company completed a comprehensive review of the program in the second quarter and made “significant changes to its processes and testing approach,” which in turn resulted in additional cost and schedule delays.Taiclet said changes to the program included assigning experts from across the company to improve its performance under a new risk identification and corrective action plan.“This is a highly classified program that can only be described as [a] game-changing capability for our joint US and international customers, and therefore it is critical that it be successfully fielded,” he said. “With our enhanced oversight of this program and rapid incorporation of lessons learned, we expect to continue to reduce risk over the next few years as we move through the key milestones of this very advanced system.”Lockheed previously booked a $555 million loss on the same classified aerospace program in the fourth quarter of 2024. At the time, the company cited a recent review of the program, which had found that it would have to spend more money on engineering and integration activities in order to meet upcoming milestones.
I have a suspicion this post actually belongs here and refers to Skunk Works fusion reactor research, what with the whole going over budget, and mention of international partners. I cannot see the US having international partners on a highly classified military aircraft, but I can on a fusion reactor.QuoteIn a news release, Lockheed attributed the reach-forward losses on the aeronautics project to continued design, integration, and test challenges that “had a greater impact on schedule and costs than previously estimated.” The company completed a comprehensive review of the program in the second quarter and made “significant changes to its processes and testing approach,” which in turn resulted in additional cost and schedule delays.Taiclet said changes to the program included assigning experts from across the company to improve its performance under a new risk identification and corrective action plan.“This is a highly classified program that can only be described as [a] game-changing capability for our joint US and international customers, and therefore it is critical that it be successfully fielded,” he said. “With our enhanced oversight of this program and rapid incorporation of lessons learned, we expect to continue to reduce risk over the next few years as we move through the key milestones of this very advanced system.”Lockheed previously booked a $555 million loss on the same classified aerospace program in the fourth quarter of 2024. At the time, the company cited a recent review of the program, which had found that it would have to spend more money on engineering and integration activities in order to meet upcoming milestones.https://breakingdefense.com/2025/07/lockheed-records-1-6b-in-losses-mostly-linked-to-continued-strife-on-classified-aero-program/
I have to say that while this is really cool, I don't really understand it. It sounds like the individual particle energy/"temperature" is really high while the metal 'lattice' is still cool enough to be solid... but if this were scaled up to generate large amounts of power, wouldn't it melt or vaporize or explode the metal?
Well I think it is still "hot" fusion in terms of energy per particle. This might be more like pyroelectric fusion which I think also involves bombarding a solid target?But I don't see how you get high energy levels (per mass not per particle) without vaporizing/exploding your solid medium.
Quote from: Vultur on 08/17/2025 07:52 pmWell I think it is still "hot" fusion in terms of energy per particle. This might be more like pyroelectric fusion which I think also involves bombarding a solid target?But I don't see how you get high energy levels (per mass not per particle) without vaporizing/exploding your solid medium.In the article: You need much less energy per particle because the lattice brings the particles closer so more tunneling. Nuclear fusion in the sun happens at a lot lower temperature because of tunneling.
Quote from: rsdavis9 on 08/17/2025 09:42 pmQuote from: Vultur on 08/17/2025 07:52 pmWell I think it is still "hot" fusion in terms of energy per particle. This might be more like pyroelectric fusion which I think also involves bombarding a solid target?But I don't see how you get high energy levels (per mass not per particle) without vaporizing/exploding your solid medium.In the article: You need much less energy per particle because the lattice brings the particles closer so more tunneling. Nuclear fusion in the sun happens at a lot lower temperature because of tunneling.Yeah, I saw that, but what about output energy? Does keeping the metal solid put a strict limit on how much power you can get (kind of like how NERVA Isp was limited by not melting the reactor core)?
The promise of nuclear fusion feels simple. Just as stars fuse hydrogen into heavier elements to produce energy, a fusion reactor generates massive amounts of energy by combining lightweight particles with minimal risk to the environment.That sounds like the dream scenario for clean energy. That said, the many challenges of nuclear fusion make it seem more like fantasy than reality; fusion is always ten years away, as the joke goes.
“The current findings open a new path for initiating fusion reactions for further study within the scientific community. However, the reaction rates need to be increased substantially to achieve appreciable power levels, which may be possible utilizing various reaction multiplication methods under consideration,” said Glenn’s Dr. Bruce Steinetz, the NASA project principal investigator.“The key to this discovery has been the talented, multi-disciplinary team that NASA Glenn assembled to investigate temperature anomalies and material transmutations that had been observed with highly deuterated metals,” said Leonard Dudzinski, Chief Technologist for Planetary Science, who supported the research. “We will need that approach to solve significant engineering challenges before a practical application can be designed.
Reactor-grade fusion plasma: First high-precision measurement of potential dynamicshttps://phys.org/news/2025-11-reactor-grade-fusion-plasma-high.htmlNuclear Fusion Took Big Leaps in 2025. Here’s What Mattered Most https://gizmodo.com/nuclear-fusion-took-big-leaps-in-2025-heres-what-mattered-most-2000696767QuoteThe promise of nuclear fusion feels simple. Just as stars fuse hydrogen into heavier elements to produce energy, a fusion reactor generates massive amounts of energy by combining lightweight particles with minimal risk to the environment.That sounds like the dream scenario for clean energy. That said, the many challenges of nuclear fusion make it seem more like fantasy than reality; fusion is always ten years away, as the joke goes.Lattice Confinement Fusion https://www.nasa.gov/glenn/glenn-expertise-space-exploration/lattice-confinement-fusion/“Scientists are interested in fusion, because it could generate enormous amounts of energy without creating long-lasting radioactive byproducts,” said Dr. Theresa Benyo of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “However, conventional fusion reactions are difficult to achieve and sustain because they rely on temperatures so extreme to overcome the strong electrostatic repulsion between positively charged nuclei that the process has been impractical.”Called Lattice Confinement Fusion, the method NASA revealed accomplishes fusion reactions with the fuel (deuterium, a widely available non-radioactive hydrogen isotope composed of a proton, neutron, and electron, and denoted “D”) confined in the space between the atoms of a metal solid. In previous fusion research such as inertial confinement fusion, fuel (such as deuterium/tritium) is compressed to extremely high levels but for only a short, nano-second period of time, when fusion can occur. In magnetic confinement fusion, the fuel is heated in a plasma to temperatures much higher than those at the center of the Sun. In the new method, conditions sufficient for fusion are created in the confines of the metal lattice that is held at ambient temperature. While the metal lattice, loaded with deuterium fuel, may initially appear to be at room temperature, the new method creates an energetic environment inside the lattice where individual atoms achieve equivalent fusion-level kinetic energies.Quote“The current findings open a new path for initiating fusion reactions for further study within the scientific community. However, the reaction rates need to be increased substantially to achieve appreciable power levels, which may be possible utilizing various reaction multiplication methods under consideration,” said Glenn’s Dr. Bruce Steinetz, the NASA project principal investigator.“The key to this discovery has been the talented, multi-disciplinary team that NASA Glenn assembled to investigate temperature anomalies and material transmutations that had been observed with highly deuterated metals,” said Leonard Dudzinski, Chief Technologist for Planetary Science, who supported the research. “We will need that approach to solve significant engineering challenges before a practical application can be designed.
Quote from: JulesVerneATV on 01/09/2026 09:34 pmReactor-grade fusion plasma: First high-precision measurement of potential dynamicshttps://phys.org/news/2025-11-reactor-grade-fusion-plasma-high.htmlNuclear Fusion Took Big Leaps in 2025. Here’s What Mattered Most https://gizmodo.com/nuclear-fusion-took-big-leaps-in-2025-heres-what-mattered-most-2000696767QuoteThe promise of nuclear fusion feels simple. Just as stars fuse hydrogen into heavier elements to produce energy, a fusion reactor generates massive amounts of energy by combining lightweight particles with minimal risk to the environment.That sounds like the dream scenario for clean energy. That said, the many challenges of nuclear fusion make it seem more like fantasy than reality; fusion is always ten years away, as the joke goes.Lattice Confinement Fusion https://www.nasa.gov/glenn/glenn-expertise-space-exploration/lattice-confinement-fusion/“Scientists are interested in fusion, because it could generate enormous amounts of energy without creating long-lasting radioactive byproducts,” said Dr. Theresa Benyo of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “However, conventional fusion reactions are difficult to achieve and sustain because they rely on temperatures so extreme to overcome the strong electrostatic repulsion between positively charged nuclei that the process has been impractical.”Called Lattice Confinement Fusion, the method NASA revealed accomplishes fusion reactions with the fuel (deuterium, a widely available non-radioactive hydrogen isotope composed of a proton, neutron, and electron, and denoted “D”) confined in the space between the atoms of a metal solid. In previous fusion research such as inertial confinement fusion, fuel (such as deuterium/tritium) is compressed to extremely high levels but for only a short, nano-second period of time, when fusion can occur. In magnetic confinement fusion, the fuel is heated in a plasma to temperatures much higher than those at the center of the Sun. In the new method, conditions sufficient for fusion are created in the confines of the metal lattice that is held at ambient temperature. While the metal lattice, loaded with deuterium fuel, may initially appear to be at room temperature, the new method creates an energetic environment inside the lattice where individual atoms achieve equivalent fusion-level kinetic energies.Quote“The current findings open a new path for initiating fusion reactions for further study within the scientific community. However, the reaction rates need to be increased substantially to achieve appreciable power levels, which may be possible utilizing various reaction multiplication methods under consideration,” said Glenn’s Dr. Bruce Steinetz, the NASA project principal investigator.“The key to this discovery has been the talented, multi-disciplinary team that NASA Glenn assembled to investigate temperature anomalies and material transmutations that had been observed with highly deuterated metals,” said Leonard Dudzinski, Chief Technologist for Planetary Science, who supported the research. “We will need that approach to solve significant engineering challenges before a practical application can be designed.wait so Pons and Fleischmann were right all along?
