Not entirely sure how much the register thinks it costs.
To design the first ever commercial man made star. But 220 m for such new science. Designed by researchers and specialists in a brand new field. Seems pretty bloody cheap to me.
As for building it being a pipe dream. We are far more prepared for it then we were the first fission power plants. Without some risk progress stops.
Will it cost more. Of course. But it is also the future of energy independence. And based on the first successful smaller design. So far from a pipe dream.
And I agree, I meant that I’ve heard both hot and cold fusion predicted.
No you did not. Cold fusion has never been predicted by anyone sane. There was a hoax at a uni in Oxford in the early 90s. That was very quickly discovered to be a chilish student hoax. It was fun to them. Because all science theory says it’s impossible.
Come on dude fusion is the very reason stars are hot.
Not to mention cold fusion would be fairly useless for power generation. As the heat is exactly how electricity is created. You need steem.
Hot fusion has been achieved. For the first time as self sustaining in 2022. But at a scale that is not profitable. IE takes huge energy to get the initial heat while only generating 1% of that energy after the heating is supported by the fusion itself. Due to the size of the resulting star(contained fusion result).
This project has designed a full scale plant to hold a much larger star using the same STEP design. This mathematically is predicted to be able to feed it’s own growth after creation. Untill it is then contained( by complex magnetic fields),in a 100mw steem generating plant. Once it is created the huge lasers needed to initiate the heat are turned off. And the size of the plant allows the process to grow.
Will it work. Likely but it is also. Just like early fission power plants likely to take time to perfect.