The giant will buy clean energy from nuclear fusion. This is supposed to be a breakthrough and the future of the energy sector

Nuclear fusion is considered by researchers to be the future of the energy sector, because it is (or actually may become) a 100% clean and ecological method of electricity production (it does not leave any waste and does not emit harmful gases). The whole process consists in the synthesis (combination) of two lighter atomic nuclei into one heavier one, and the side effect of this phenomenon is a certain dose of energy. Naturally, thermonuclear fusion occurs in the cores of stars (the sun is basically nothing more than a giant fusion reactor), and this excess energy is the heat and electromagnetic radiation (including light) emitted by the stars. Creating on Earth the conditions necessary to initiate fusion (i.e. temperatures of tens or hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius and high pressure) and then using it to produce electricity on a larger scale is currently extremely difficult and exceeds our technological capabilities.

Microsoft will buy green energy from nuclear fusion

Breakthrough in fusion research For the first time, researchers have extracted more energy from fusion than they used to initiate the process. The amount of energy produced was, of course, small (it would be enough to boil less than 9.5 liters of water), but the achievement gives high hopes for curbing the phenomenon and building the first thermonuclear power plants in the next few decades. Microsoft apparently believes in the success of the work, because it has just declared the purchase of electricity produced in this way.

As , the Internet giant has signed a contract with Helion Energy from the state of Washington for the supply of electricity produced in the planned power plant using the phenomenon of nuclear fusion. However, the two companies did not disclose any details of the deal. It is not known how much energy the company would supply to Microsoft and what facilities would be powered by it. Microsoft only noted that cooperation with Helion will allow it to support “its own long-term clean energy goals” and accelerate work on a new “efficient method of delivering more clean energy to the grid.”

Clean energy from fusion in just a few years?

Helion plans to launch its first power plant in 2028 and generate at least 50 megawatts (or more) of energy after one year of operation. That’s enough power to power about 1,000 homes in the US. According to the founder and CEO of Helion, the planned reactor will be only the first step in the use of nuclear fusion on a commercial scale. Ultimately, the company would like to supply clean energy from nuclear fusion to the grid “in the US and around the world.” Reuters reminds that Helion was the first private enterprise to reach 100 million degrees Celsius in 2021. This is half the temperature considered optimal for the commercial use of fusion. He then invested in the company OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, donating a trivial $375 million for the work.