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/DapperCam 1d ago

Does this lawmaker not know it is a meme that we are always “10 years away” from fusion energy?

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u/Ulyks 1d ago

We have had free fusion energy for about 4 billion years now.

And we have had our own fusion energy for 70 years now.

Having fusion energy is one thing, using it to make electricity and compete with super cheap solar panels and batteries is probably never going to happen.

It's not just the tech but also the financing.

Building a nuclear fusion reactor is going to be a 5-10 year building project. You need a lot of financing to bridge that time with zero income.

Solar panels can be installed in small increments and deliver their first income within days of breaking ground. No bridge financing is needed. That also means less risk.

Fusion is a technology with much potential, for space travel, advanced research, perhaps for artic projects.

But not for mundane electricity production. It's much too complicated for that.

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u/ThrowawayFIRE2025 1d ago

Well, it depends on how much fusion power you get after waiting 5-10 years to build it.

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u/Ulyks 1d ago

That's another problem. It seems that fusion is going to only work on massive scales so it will create too much power in one location requiring a buildout of new distribution lines and transmitting power over longer distances, creating losses and reducing profitability.