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PPPL researchers find way to build high-temperature superconducting magnets for fusion devices

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Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found a way to build high-temperature superconducting magnets made of material that conducts electricity with little or no resistance at temperatures warmer than before. Collage by Kiran Sudarsanan).

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Welcome to Fusion City, USA

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But here, and in an even more anonymous office park nearby, startup Zap Energy is trialing a prototype reactor that is already producing high-energy neutrons from nuclear fusion—if not yet enough to send power back into the grid. Zap isn’t the only fusion company fishing in aviation’s talent pool.

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General Fusion Takes Aim at Practical Fusion Power

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It might be time to retire that overused joke about nuclear fusion always being 30 years away. Burnaby, British Columbia-based General Fusion plans to build a large-scale demonstration reactor at the UK's national fusion research laboratory campus in Culham near Oxford.

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This Fusion Reactor Is Held Together With Tape

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Brandon Sorbom , the scientific director of Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) , leads me toward the center of the building’s cross-shaped footprint, weaving among scaffolding, forklifts, and teams of welders and painters. On the site of a former U.S. Army Reserve base near Boston, an unusual structure is rising from the rolling hills.

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NASA’s New Shortcut to Fusion Power

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And scientists and engineers have continued to study the sun’s fusion process in hopes of one day using nuclear fusion to generate heat or electricity. Consequently, governments, universities, and companies have long looked to fusion to remedy these ills. But the prospect of meeting our energy needs this way remains elusive.

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Ford unveils Fusion Hybrid research vehicle for autonomous driving

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Ford Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle with four LiDAR sensors. Ford, in conjunction with the University of Michigan and State Farm, unveiled a Ford Fusion Hybrid automated research vehicle that will be used to make progress on future autonomous driving and other advanced technologies. Click to enlarge. 3D mapping with LiDAR.

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Ford tests Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicles driving in complete darkness

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As part of its LiDAR sensor development, Ford has tested Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicles in complete darkness without headlights on desert roads, demonstrating the capability to perform beyond the limits of human drivers. In fact, LiDAR allows autonomous cars to drive just as well in the dark as they do in the light of day.

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