Masashi ShimadaHe has been studying nuclear fusion research since 2000, when his graduate degree at University of California San Diego was completed. He currently serves as the chief scientist for the Safety and Tritium Applied Research facility (STAR) in Idaho National Laboratory. It is one the premier federal scientific research laboratories.

This field has seen a significant shift.

Fusion was a joke early in Shimada’s career. Shimada was constantly reminded of “Fusion” as the energy that will continue to be.

However, this is changing. Dozens of start-upsAccording to the report, they have received nearly $4 billion in private financing. the Fusion Industry AssociationAn industry trade association.

Jennifer Granholm (Secretary of the Department of Energy): Investors have called fusion energy the “holy grail” of clean energyIt is capable of producing almost limitless energy and releasing no greenhouse gasses. Furthermore, it does not produce radioactive waste as long-lasting or radioactive.

A whole new crop of young scientists are involved in fusion research, and they’re all very inspired.

Young people believe in fusion. They’re going to do it. Shimada expressed that the children have a positive and optimistic outlook.

Shimada’s team is conducting research into tritium management, which has been a hot topic among fusion companies, to help them set up a new industry in the United States.

Andrew Holland CEO, The Committee for Fusion Commercialization stated, “As part the government’s new ‘bold vision’ for fusion commercialization. Tritium handling, production will be a key component of their scientific research.” Fusion Industry AssociationCNBC.

The nuclear reaction of fusion occurs when two lighter nuclei collide to make one heavier nucleus. releasing “massive amounts of energy.”This is how the sun gets its power. Controlling fusion reactions is an intricate and delicate task.

The fuels of a fusion reaction in many instances are tritium or deuterium. These are forms both hydrogen and are used to create fusion reactions. most abundant element in the universe.

The element deuterium can also be found in seawater. If the Earth can achieve fusion at a scale, one gallon of sea waterThe Department of Energy estimates that enough deuterium would exist to create as much fuel as 300 gallon gasoline.

Tritium can only be manufactured because it isn’t common anywhere on Earth. Shimada and his Idaho National Lab researchers have created a small tritium laboratory located 55 miles west Idaho Falls. They are studying how to make the isotope.

Shimada stated to CNBC that tritium was not naturally found in the environment.

The majority of tritium used in the United States today comes from China. Canada’s national nuclear laboratory, Shimada said. But we cannot depend on them. Shimada explained that once you’ve used it, all tritium is gone if you don’t recycle.” So we need to produce tritium when we run a fusion reactor.

Shimada explained that while there’s sufficient tritium in the world to support research and pilot fusion, it is not enough for commercialization.

“We must now invest in tritium fuel-cycle technologies to make and recycle tritium.

Tritium is radioactiveHowever, it is not the same as the fuel for nuclear fission reactions.

Tritium’s radioactive decomposition takes place as a weak beta-emitter. The water can block this type of radiation,” Jonathan Cobb, spokesperson of the World Nuclear AssociationCNBC.

Cobb stated that half the life of tritum is 12 years. When a radioactive material decays it releases helium. This is radioactive.

The nuclear fission reaction, by contrast, splits uranium in products like iodine and cesium. These radioactive half-lives range from days up to thousands of years.

However, the radioactive nature of tritium means it still needs to be studied. Idaho National Lab is particularly interested in how tritium reacts with the material used for fusion. This is often a machine in the shape of a tokamak, which can be described as a donut.

The fuel source must be heated to fusion temperature in order for a reaction to take place. plasmaThe fourth state of matter is. Shimada stated that these reactions occur at extremely high temperatures of up to 100 million degrees. This can have an impact on how quickly tritium can be absorbed into plasma material.

A majority of fusion reaction container are made out of special stainless steel, with a thin layer tungsten inside. Shimada stated that tungsten was chosen for its lowest tritium solubility among all elements of the periodic table.

Radiation damage can be caused by high-energy neutrons from the fusion reaction, even in tungsten.

This research was done to provide fusion companies with a data set to determine when this might occur, and to help them establish and assess the safety of their programs.

Shimada said that a “fusion reaction can be made for 5-10 seconds most likely without any concern” regarding the material used in the containment of the reaction. However, commercial-scale energy production would require fusion reactions to remain at elevated temperatures for many years.

Shimada explained to CNBC that “the goal of our research has been to help the designer fusion reactors predict when there is tritium accumulation and/or tritium permeation in the vessels reach unacceptable levels.” This will allow us to set up protocols for heating the materials (i.e. bake-out), and removing tritium from vessels to lower the risk of accidental tritium releases.

The behavior of tritium is being studied by Idaho National Lab to determine safety standards. However, the waste generated is much less hazardous than the fission-powered nuclear plants. For the past several years, federal officials have been looking at how to make a permanent place for waste derived from fission. more than 40 yearsHowever, he has not yet found a solution.

Fusion does not produce radioactive waste that is long-lasting. Shimada stated that this was one of the benefits of fusion reactors versus fission.