The US Department of Energy is set to reveal a “major scientific breakthrough” this week after scientists were able to produce a fusion reaction that created a net energy gain for the first time.
The development — a major step in the quest for unlimited clean energy — was recently done at the government-funded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, sources told The Washington Post.
The Net Gain Reaction, which is considered the “holy grail” of carbon-free energy, is an important step towards the possibility of one day creating a technology that can offer a virtually unlimited supply of clean energy.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is expected to announce the results of the fusion experiment Tuesday at a media event.
A lab official said the researchers were still finalizing their findings and that nothing would be confirmed until the expected event.
The Energy Department also declined to comment.
Scientists have been trying since the 1950s to replicate the same nuclear reaction that powers the sun as part of the global quest to provide clean energy and fight climate change.
But, so far, no researcher has been able to produce more energy from the fusion reaction than it consumes.
“For most of us, it was just a matter of time,” one of the lab’s top fusion scientists said of the experiment’s success.
The science of nuclear fusion relies on pushing hydrogen atoms so close together that they combine into helium, then release torrents of energy.
Despite the recent discovery, scientists believe fusion power plants are still at least a decade away from commercial use.
The Biden administration has prioritized fusion energy research projects and committed tens of billions of dollars through the Cut Inflation Act.
