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Tipping Points
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Better planetTipping Points
Wednesday, 1 October 2025
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The Promise of Infinite Energy
An inexhaustible, clean energy source, with no long-lived radioactive waste and no CO₂ emissions… Just a few years ago, nuclear fusion seemed almost mythical. Today, this scientific dream could become reality, paving the way for a major energy shift.
At the heart of the reactor
The heart of this revolution-in-the-making beats in Cadarache, Provence. It is there, less than an hour’s drive from Marseille, that the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is being built.
This colossal project, the result of cooperation between thirty-five countries, aims to demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale nuclear fusion as a source of low-carbon electricity.
Unlike fission, which splits a heavy atom into two lighter ones, fusion - as its name suggests - consists of combining two hydrogen nuclei, as in the heart of stars, to form a heavier nucleus, releasing an immense amount of energy.
To achieve this, a gas must be heated to more than 150 million degrees, until it turns into plasma, “the fourth state of matter.” ITER uses a gigantic donut-shaped magnet to keep the plasma suspended, preventing it from touching the reactor walls.
The challenge: to sustain this “stellar fire” long enough for the reaction to produce ten times more energy than it consumes.
ITER is therefore not designed to produce electricity directly, but rather to achieve a sustained, stable, and powerful fusion plasma. If this feat is accomplished - no earlier than 2030 - it will lead to a future electricity-generating reactor called Demo.
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A clean and nearly limitless energy
Nuclear fusion does not produce long-lived, highly radioactive waste like current fission does, and it carries no risk of nuclear meltdown. It relies on two fuels: deuterium, abundantly available in seawater, and tritium, which could potentially be produced directly inside the reactor.
If the technological hurdles are overcome, fusion could provide virtually inexhaustible, low-carbon energy at a very low marginal cost. The implications are huge: lasting reductions in electricity prices, energy sovereignty for nations, potential reshoring of energy-intensive industries… The economic potential is immense.
Colossal challenges
However, we are not there yet. To fulfill the promises of nuclear fusion, several locks still need to be broken: sustaining stable plasma at 150 million degrees, developing reactor wall materials resistant to the powerful neutrons generated by the reaction, producing tritium on a large scale, and turning experimental prototypes into commercial reactors by 2040–2050.All this will require massive investment and strong political will.Still, in a context of strained energy resources and climate urgency, fusion is no longer a distant utopia. It is a strategic gamble, rooted in technological innovation, that humanity can no longer afford to ignore.
