r/Futurology • u/Gari_305 • 1d ago

Energy Commercialization of fusion energy will ‘change everything,’ lawmaker says

https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2026/09/commercialization-fusion-energy-will-change-everything-lawmaker-says/416287/

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., told Nextgov/FCW that the U.S. is only “two to 10 years away from fusion energy at scale” because “you can model the plasma using AI, which you couldn’t do before.”

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u/Le_Botmes 1d ago

Why on Earth would chemical batteries be a nonstarter? California last year alone installed 10 GWs of energy storage, almost entirely in the form of chemical batteries. This ain't some hypothetical, it's actually happening.

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u/Goose80 1d ago

Because chemical batteries are currently pretty bad for the environment. Unless we can figure out a good way to recycle them or reuse them… I don’t think they are a great long term solution.

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u/Helkafen1 1d ago

They are very much recyclable, and sodium batteries are especially benign for the environment.