Chapter 1674 Declaration of the New Fusion Force

Franz is not the only one who has noticed the reality that the focus of human development is shifting.

As the leader of the previous era, Washington obviously cannot sit idly by.

Therefore, the American response was swift and direct.

A few days later, a fusion energy company called Helion Energy released an announcement with an equally concise and powerful headline:

Helion Energy and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Collaborate to Achieve Net Fusion Energy Gain.

The announcement stated that the company has worked closely with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and, relying on the massive experimental data accumulated by the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF), successfully conducted a "non-ignition fusion" experiment on its fifth-generation pulsed magnetic confinement system prototype "Venti".

During the experiment, an ultra-strong magnetic field with an intensity of up to 7 T was generated, achieving a scientific energy gain (Qsci) of 0.97 and, more strikingly, a net electrical output gain (Qeng) of 1.10.

Judging from the numbers alone, Helion's achievements do not seem so impressive compared to China's claims of 4175 seconds of steady-state operation and Q>1.

Qsci 0.97 means that the energy produced by the fusion reaction is close to but has not yet completely covered the energy input to the plasma; Qeng = 1.10 is a more practical engineering indicator, indicating that after deducting all system losses (including heating, magnetic field maintenance, energy recovery efficiency, etc.), the final net electrical energy output is higher than the input electrical energy.

This is indeed an important step on the road to energy gain for controlled nuclear fusion, proving the partial feasibility of its energy recovery concept.

However, its impact seems diluted by the one-hour running time of Huaxia HL2A.

Although there are still quite a number of people questioning whether China's incredible "4175 seconds" is a real breakthrough or data magic, there is no doubt that the hot topics of discussion in academia, media and the world of gossip are still focused on the west coast of the Pacific.

However, Helion Energy is not content to just play a background role.

On the evening of the same day the announcement was released, a small-scale press conference, inviting only a dozen or so representatives from top international media outlets, was quietly held in a futuristic medium-sized conference hall at its headquarters.

Unlike most press conferences that are announced in advance, Helion Energy did not disclose any specific content in advance.

This low-key "raid" strategy finally succeeded in igniting the curiosity of the outside world.

And the facts have proved that they did not disappoint the expectations of the outside world.

There was no host for the press conference, and David Turley, founder and CEO of Helion Energy, appeared directly on the stage.

"First, I want to share some good news about Helion Energy's own development."

Terry's opening remarks were consistent with his company's style, calm and direct:

"We have just completed a new round of financing totaling US$10.25 billion, bringing Helion Energy's total funding since its inception to over US$40 billion. More notably, after this round of financing, Helion Energy's valuation has exceeded US$80 billion..."

"..."

There was a polite, sparse applause from the audience.

$40 billion in financing is undoubtedly an astonishing figure for a company that is not particularly large, showing the capital's great confidence in its route.

But it is obviously not worthy of the outside world's expectations for tonight.

In today's technology world, financing and valuations are hardly rare news.

However, Trey's next move instantly caught everyone's attention.

He calmly turned sideways and waved his hand lightly.

As he moved, the two dark curtains covering the huge display area behind the podium were slowly pulled open.

The ultra-large high-definition screen hidden at the back instantly lights up, presenting a grand, detailed and industrial-aesthetic conceptual design of the building complex to everyone.

The picture is extremely visually impactful: the main body is several giant silver-gray ring structures with unique shapes and smooth lines, which are combined together in a precise geometric way.

The huge cooling system, the neatly arranged power transmission and transformation facilities, and the modern auxiliary buildings surrounding them together outline the prototype of a future energy base.

At the bottom of the screen, a line of eye-catching artistic fonts indicates the project code name - "ORION".

The venue fell into silence in an instant, with only the frequent clicking of camera shutters as the only sound.

The reporters stared at the screen with bated breath, anticipating that the real big news was about to be revealed.

David Terry turned and faced the camera and the reporters in the audience again.

"I'm honored to announce to you all," he said, his voice booming with pride: Helion Energy has signed the world's first commercial fusion power purchase agreement!

He deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of "the world's first":

"Under this landmark contract, Helion Energy has committed to delivering at least 2025 megawatts of clean fusion power to our target customer (I'm sorry I can't reveal its name) within ten years, meaning no later than 100!"

As he spoke, Trey pointed to the magnificent building complex called "Orion" on the screen behind him:

"And what you are seeing now is the conceptual design of our planned world's first commercial fusion power plant - 'Orion'!"

"boom--"

After a brief, almost stagnant silence, the venue was ignited like a pile of dry firewood covered with gasoline.

The press box exploded instantly.

Whispered conversations, exclamations of disbelief, and even more frantic shutter sounds intertwined together.

The world's first commercial fusion PPA!

Deliver 100MW within ten years!

A fusion power plant called "Orion"!

Every keyword is enough to make headlines!

The staff who were broadcasting live on NBC in the distance also had expressions of uncontrollable excitement on their faces - there was no doubt that their ratings curve would soar at an astonishing rate.

Terry cleverly maintained a moment of silence, allowing the explosive news to fully ferment.

He certainly understood the shock.

In other words, he created this shock intentionally.

Fusion energy, the dream known as the "ultimate energy", has long remained in the laboratory and in the distant future.

However, at this moment, Helion Energy not only announced a specific timetable and clarified the power for commercial delivery, but also showed the concept map of the power plant!

This is undoubtedly the most powerful declaration to bring dreams closer to reality.

But after waiting for a few seconds, no one raised their hand to ask questions.

After all, before this, no one thought that they would hear such news, let alone prepare targeted questions for it.

So David Terry had to take the initiative to speak and draw attention back to himself:

"I know that 100 megawatts of power generation is not particularly outstanding compared to today's large coal-fired or gas-fired power plants, or even mainstream fission nuclear power plants."

He deliberately spoke slowly to show the solemnity of witnessing history:

"However, please recall the history of humanity's use of nuclear energy: when the world's first fission reactor, 'Chicago One,' achieved its first self-sustaining chain reaction in 1942, its power output was barely enough to light a few lightbulbs."

"Therefore, what's important isn't the initial power figures of 'Orion', but the irreversible trend it represents! It marks the official transition of controlled nuclear fusion, a practical, commercializable clean energy technology, from the laboratory to engineering practice, and from science fiction to an industrial blueprint!"

"'Orion' will be the key that opens the door to the era of fusion energy for mankind. Its successful construction and operation will pave the way for our subsequent construction of gigawatt-class and even larger-scale fusion power plants, ultimately completely changing the global energy landscape!"

Trey's speech was full of infectiousness. He described not only Helion Energy's business blueprint, but also a future vision of unlimited supply of clean energy.

While the results of China's HL2A attracted global attention and doubts, Helion Energy, with a "blitzkrieg" attitude, announced an accelerated sprint on another technological path with a commercial contract and a power plant blueprint, successfully bringing the focus of the global fusion competition back to the United States, at least temporarily.

This carefully planned press conference is undoubtedly a strong response to China's recent series of rapid progress in science and technology, and clearly conveys the determination of Washington and its technology industry to never give in and to compete for the commanding heights of future energy.

At the same time, in the capital.

In the small conference room on the top floor of the Industrial and Construction Committee building.

The huge screen was fixed on a giant rendering of the Orion fusion energy center behind David Kirtley.

"100 megawatts, by 2025." Deputy Director Lan Xinzhi lowered his laser pointer. A comparison chart appeared on the screen. On the left were Helion's published key Orion parameters and promised timeline. "They chose the pulsed magnetic confinement route, bypassing the widely acknowledged obstacle of maintaining long-pulsed plasma. Their goal is pragmatic, yet also...convenient."

Luan Wenjie sat in the main seat, his eyes calmly scanning the data on the screen.

He did not immediately respond to Lan Xinzhi's comments, but turned to the other end of the conference table and asked: "What about the preliminary assessment of the nuclear energy sector?"

Lei Wencheng cleared his throat and quickly pulled out the document he had just summarized:

"Technical assessments suggest that Helion Energy's pulsed magnetic confinement scheme, based on field inversion, combined with its claimed direct magnetic energy conversion technology, theoretically offers the potential to circumvent the challenges of long-term steady-state plasma confinement. While its published Qeng = 1.10 is only a transient value, achieving a cumulative energy output of 100MW is not unrealistic in engineering terms if high-frequency stable pulses can be achieved."

"The key lies in whether its energy conversion efficiency and system engineering reliability can meet commercial requirements... Its technical approach is clearly different from our tokamak steady-state approach and can be seen as another important exploration on the path to practical fusion."

"In other words... it's not enough to pose a threat to us?" Luan Wenjie asked in summary.

"Of course..." Lei Wencheng almost laughed out loud. "Old Peng and I have already reviewed the technical documents provided by the Southwest Institute of Physics and, of course, the Torch Laboratory."

"Although I don't fully understand it, I'm pretty sure the demonstration reactor project can proceed. The power of this 'Orion' is... only one thousandth of ours. And judging by the details in the renderings, it's clear that even the overall design hasn't been finalized yet, so progress will undoubtedly be even slower..."

This news made Luan Wenjie feel much better: "Hmm... Looks like there's no need to worry too much. Just continue with the original plan..."

At this moment, Lan Xinzhi's voice suddenly sounded:

"Now that we're entering the question-and-answer session, why not listen to what they have to say first?"