这家公司称核聚变或将很快为电网供电
位于马萨诸塞州的Commonwealth Fusion Systems公司在核聚变发电领域取得新进展，该公司致力于将核聚变技术应用于美国电网。
核聚变利用高温等离子体将原子核融合，释放能量，与传统的核裂变反应相反。
该公司正在建造一个名为托卡马克（tokamak）的环形装置，预计明年底投入运营，若能实现净能量输出，将计划在弗吉尼亚州建设一座400兆瓦的核聚变发电站。
该公司已向电力运营商PJM提交接入电网申请，并已获得谷歌和能源公司Eni的购电合同，预计在2030年代将核聚变电力送入电网，标志着核聚变技术加速商业化的可能性。
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A Massachusetts-based fusion company took another step this week in its race to become the first to get the same power fueling the sun and stars onto the US electrical grid.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems is currently building a donut-shaped machine called a tokamak — a chamber where atoms are smashed together in 100-million-degree plasma. The nuclear fusion reaction, forcing two atoms to merge, creates heat energy in the same way as the sun. It’s the polar opposite of conventional nuclear energy — a fission reaction that splits atoms. And it could be the key to unlocking nearly limitless power, all without long-lived nuclear waste or greenhouse gases that warm the planet. Fuel for fusion is abundant. It’s derived from deuterium, found in seawater, and tritium, which is extracted from lithium.
The company’s demonstration tokamak in Massachusetts is 75% built and slated to be operational by late next year. If it can successfully achieve net energy — producing more energy than what gets put in to run it — Commonwealth’s next step is building a 400-megawatt fusion power plant in Virginia. That will be named the Fall Line Fusion Power Station, the company announced Tuesday.
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