Today’s nuclear power stations use nuclear fission, which splits the nucleus of a heavy element. Nuclear fusion is the reverse. Scientists have been trying to make it work as an energy source for decades. The promise is near limitless clean energy. One kilogram of fusion fuel could yield the energy equivalent of ten million kilograms of fossil fuel. Fusion would also work in any weather, unlike solar and wind, and create far less dangerous waste than today’s nuclear power plants. A new wave of private investment hopes to make fusion a reality.
