The Future of Fusion as a Public Interest Technology: International Socio-technical Co-design of the DEMO Phase and the Quest for a Sustainable Energy Source
摘要
Fusion, a crucial element of life on Earth, holds promise as a long-term, eco-friendly, and resource-efficient energy option that can combat climate change and gain public approval, making it the ultimate energy source (Dean in J Fusion Energy 17:263–287, 1998; Turrell in The star builders—Nuclear fusion and the race to power the planet. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 2021). As the most energy-rich energy source available to meet the global need for energy for all (United Nations Sustainable Development Goal [UNSDG] 7), fusion offers a clean and safer alternative to nuclear fission, with a system that can be deployed anywhere and operates continuously, unlike renewables (Nuttal in A report prepared for the Institute of Physics, 2008). Its inexhaustible fuel supply, indigenous to all nations, makes it a sustainable energy source.