US researchers announce historic nuclear fusion breakthrough

WASHINGTON — US researchers announced a historic nuclear fusion breakthrough on Tuesday that could pave the way for alternative clean energy sources, saying that a federal research facility has achieved fusion ignition.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said an experiment it conducted "produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it."

BREAKING NEWS: This is an announcement that has been decades in the making.

On December 5, 2022 a team from DOE's @Livermore_Lab made history by achieving fusion ignition.

This breakthrough will change the future of clean power and America’s national defense forever. pic.twitter.com/hFHWbmCNQJ

— U.S. Department of Energy (@ENERGY) December 13, 2022

The US Department of Energy described the achievement of fusion ignition as a "major scientific breakthrough" that will lead to "advancements in national defense and the future of clean power."

LLNL director Dr. Kim Budil described it as "is one of the most significant scientific challenges ever tackled by humanity."

Scientists have been working for decades to develop nuclear fusion—touted by its supporters as a clean, abundant and safe source of energy that could eventually allow humanity to break its dependence on the fossil fuels driving a global climate crisis. — Agence France-Presse