SEMINAR 2021

Abstract

Fusion energy is carbon-free with high energy density, is able to provide the baseload, produces no high-level nuclear waste, and has no risk of catastrophic failure. As such, alongside fission power and other renewables, it is an important part of humankind’s struggle to mitigate the ongoing climate crisis. For land-scarce and natural-resource-poor Singapore, fusion power is all the more vital for energy security. Hence, it is not surprising that Singapore is starting a fusion research initiative, building towards a local fusion experiment, and subsequently, putting fusion power on the grid. In my talk, I will give an overview of the state-of-the-art for magnetic confinement fusion and provide a survey of the open physics and engineering challenges. With that in mind, I propose a path that Singapore can take to become a world-class, perhaps even world-leading, fusion powerhouse.