Scientists in Korea have succeeded in sustaining a plasma gas at 100 million kelvin for up to 20 seconds without significant instabilities , a feat thought to be a significant step forward in the quest for a sustainable nuclear fusion reaction . Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research , or KSTAR , operates using a hydrogen plasma confined by a magnetic field . But researchers have so far been unable to achieve a sustainable fusion performance , which requires a high temperature above 100 million kelvin and sufficient control of instabilities to ensure steady-state operation in the order of tens of seconds . |
Researchers at the facility now report they have overcome the threshold . “ Here we report experiments at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research device producing a plasma fusion regime that satisfies most of the above requirements ,” a research paper published in Nature said . “ A low plasma density combined with a moderate input power for operation is key to establishing this regime by preserving a high fraction of fast ions . This regime is rarely subject to disruption and can be sustained reliably even without a sophisticated control , and thus represents a promising path towards commercial fusion reactors ,” the authors said . |
Hydrogen Utopia International PLC ( HUI ), a company pioneering nonrecyclable waste plastics to hydrogen technology has agreed heads of terms ( HoTs ) with Powerhouse Energy Group PLC ( PHE ) for the joint development of a facility at a site at in Konin within the Wielkopolska ( Greater Poland ) Voivodeship . The joint venture relates to the site currently held by HUI in Konin following the signing of an agreement by HUI with the City of Konin and for which an application for an environmental assessment has been submitted ( the “ Konin Project ”). HUI and PHE have agreed to establish a joint venture vehicle owned equally by each company with development costs being contributed |
by each party on a 50:50 basis ( the “ JV ”), subject to relevant project documentation for the JV , including its management and governance , being completed . Under the HoTs , PHE has agreed that a sum fixed at EUR250,000 for the costs that HUI has incurred in developing the site and the Konin Project to date will be recognised as part of HUI ’ s contribution to the development costs of the JV . HUI will also receive a premium of EUR250,000 . This sum of EUR500,000 due to HUI and the ongoing development costs of each of HUI and PHE will be capitalised at financial close of the Konin Project and recovered through an appropriate mechanism to be agreed at the time . |
Southern California Gas Co . ( SoCal- Gas ) and the University of California , Irvine ( UCI ) have announced a proposed collaboration to demonstrate how electrolytic hydrogen can be safely blended into existing natural gas infrastructure on the university ’ s campus . The project aims to help better understand how clean fuels like renewable hydrogen could be delivered at scale through California ’ s existing natural gas system , either to existing customers connected to the gas grid , or to generate |
clean electricity in zero-emissions fuel cells . The demonstration is an important next step in establishing a statewide injection standard for renewable hydrogen that would promote California ’ s clean energy and resiliency goals . If approved , So- CalGas could begin testing hydrogen blending at UCI as soon as 2024 . SoCalGas ’ collaboration with UCI is part of a hydrogen blending demonstration application jointly filed with San Diego Gas & Electric Company ( SDG & E ) and Southwest Gas with |
the California Public Utilities Commission ( CPUC ). The demonstration project builds upon the California Public Utilities Commission “ Hydrogen Blending Impacts Study ,” performed by the University of California , Riverside ( UCR ). The study recommended testing hydrogen blending in a realworld environment as an important step toward establishing a California hydrogen blending standard , which could accelerate the state ’ s clean energy and resiliency goals . |
As proposed , UCI would use an electrolyzer to convert water into hydrogen for blending into the existing gas grid on sections of the UCI campus . The demonstration would power existing residential and light commercial equipment , including water heaters , boilers , furnaces , and ovens in academic buildings , student amenities , and housing . The project would initially blend 5 % hydrogen , to gradually increase the hydrogen blend up to 20 %, resulting in potentially significant CO2 emissions reductions . |