It's kind of a running joke. Fusion is always only 20 years away. I mentioned this thread to my son who is graduating from Tennessee in May with a degree in Nuclear Engineering (and if I may brag for a second, he'll be suma cum laude). Starts his PhD program almost immediately. Anyway, he looked at the article and said, "Interesting. I haven't taken much stock in these current 'breakthroughs' because they are still just running for 20 minutes or something. I have been seeing a lot of startups getting funding for demonstrating their design in a couple of years. Which seems optimistic."

The newer fission technologies (molten salt reactors, SMRs, etc) are the more practical exciting advances. Many demonstration units currently under development and/or construction. Plus the hydrogen generation plants being developed as an offshoot (and previously mentioned). Toyota seems to be the major manufacturer who is placing bets on hydrogen. I think they'll win that bet.

That was VERY optimistic! When I was at GA Tech in the late 70s (45 years ago), the fusion engineers said it was 35 years away," and it still is! Understand these research facilities are very finely tuned machines that are extremely expensive to build. On a commercial scale, it would be massively more expensive, then there's regulation, and NIMBY. NIMBY because fusion is how a thermonuclear bomb (H-bomb) works, so tell someone you're going to put one in their back yard!!

No need for fusion when we already have distributed solar with batteries.

I hope that's a joke

I know I laughed.

Kind of like the perpetual motion machine, that can do work indefinitely without an external energy source. The obvious problem is it would violate the first and second laws of thermodynamics.

C'mon. Never let a few laws of physics get in the way of somebody's "opinion" :1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

Nope. Works great!

No comment

Are you sure?

Any honest and factual response would earn me a vacation

As they continue to build coal fired plants.

Fusions time has not yet come

I guess that they did NOT say WHEN in the 21st century.

Most of my driving is within a 200-mile range, I haven't been to a gas station in months. My car charges in a few hours while I sleep and it's ready for me in the morning. Even though hydrogen is cleaner for the environment than ICE and most likely EVs you still like gas have to go to a designated area to refuel. And these hydrogen station will not be manufacturing the hydrogen this will be truck in. You see EVs are better than ICE, when it comes to air pollution, and they also offer convenance. And no, I do not have an extension cord from my house to the car when I'm on the road.