A rundown of how fusion projects around the world are currently doing in terms of distance to net energy.

How the race to Fusion is progressing

(written for and posted exclusively to Steemit.com)

A recent report from LPP fusion, an outfit that raised $180,000 via Indiegogo to fund its research into a novel method of fusion power recently provided a breakdown of where various fusion research technologies place in the race to net energy, including many far better funded projects:

fusionrace

The chart shows fusion project plasmas at various stages based on an 'n-tau-T' measure (Density-Time-Temperature, the combination of which are crucial aspects of producing net energy from a fusion burn) with LPP's FF-1 reactor placing a respectable 5th given its minimal funding thus far.

A second chart measuring wall-plug efficiency (energy out vs energy in) shows FF-1 in second place behind JET (Joint European Torus):

fusionrace2

with many projects left off the chart due to a lack of "measurable fusion yield from their machines".

Lastly the low cost of FF-1 as a research project (just $5m so far) is illustrated by a chart showing wall plug efficiency per million dollars, placing FF-1 ten and a hundred times as efficient respectively by this measure per million dollars as its next closest rivals:

fusionrace3

Distance to net energy is arguably a lot more important than the cost of the project achieving it and presumably if the FF-1 did gain more funding the efficiencies would drop off to some degree but the project does seem to have done well given its sparse funding.

Funding in general for fusion has been lacklustre to say the least as shown in this chart comparing a 1976 ERDA report with projected funding possibilities at the time with actual funding:

ERDA

Fusion timelines seem to ever extend into the future but progress is being made and funding does make a significant difference. As an MIT researcher put it a few years back: "You might say that we’re not a certain number of years away from a working fusion power plant, but rather about $80-billion away."

In the absence of being able to convince Warren Buffet to buy the world a working fusion reactor out of his pocket change novel lower cost approaches and crowdfunding might just be able to produce fusion power before the next 50 years...

Note: Author is not invested in any fusion projects including FF-1 but is considering investing in the very promising CT reactor.