The United States and China are considered to be the two superpowers vying for world dominance in the current era. Unlike the Cold War period in which military strength and then spaceflight was at the center of the competition, these days economic strength and domination of the energy future are the main focal points.
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. is intent on producing oil, gas, and coal and selling it abroad. Meanwhile, China has become the world’s dominant supplier of clean energy, leading the world in the production of solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles.
On the horizon is fusion power. Hydrogen fusion – the process by which the sun functions – was first confirmed in the 1930s. By the 1970s, there were projects aimed at developing viable fusion power systems. Over the subsequent decades, there has been progress toward producing a fusion power plant that can supply energy to the grid. But to date, scientific and engineering challenges have prevented the successful development of a fusion plant that produces significantly more energy than it takes to operate it.
China has made fusion a national priority and is applying substantial resources toward achieving practical fusion. This summer, the Chinese government poured $2.1 billion into a new state-owned fusion company. The U.S. is counting on private industry to deliver results. There are several American fusion start-ups funded by prominent investors who have provided hundreds of millions of dollars to these companies.
The fusion race is on, and the stakes are very high.
