Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 4.62.
A technician inside NIF target chamber.
Source:
Lseaveratnif at Wikimedia
Commons.
Experiments around the NIF idea began in the late 1970s, and following a series of cost
overruns, the US$3.5 billion NIF project was launched in 2009. Similarly, the ITER project
was launched in 1985, construction started in 2008, and the end of the project is planned
for 2038. The initial goal of ITER sounds modest: to keep hydrogen plasma burning for
just a few seconds, producing an energy output ten times greater than the energy input.
Evenifthisgoalisachieved,itwillrequireamajoradditionalleaptodevelopacommercial
reactor. As with most technological innovations, the issue of cost is paramount. Already,
the ITER budget has tripled to around US$20 billion. Even with unlimited funding, it
would take between thirty and seventy-five years before a large-scale fusion reactor can be
constructed.
Much will depend on how other alternative energy technologies fare in the meantime. A
breakthrough in solar or other renewables may put the brake on expensive fusion research
