NUCLEAR ENERGY
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory just achieved a 'Wright Brothers moment' in nuclear fusion
CNBC | 8/17/2021
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced on Tuesday it was able to produce 1.3 megajoules of energy at its National Ignition Facility, albeit very briefly, on Sunday, Aug 08.
“Our result is a significant step forward in understanding what is required for [fusion] to work. To me, this is a Wright Brothers moment,” said Omar A. Hurricane, Chief Scientist for the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program at the Laboratory.
According to a statement from the Laboratory, what’s key about this achievement is that the results make “a significant step toward ignition.” According to Hurricane, “Ignition is a tipping-point in the fusion process where the fusion heats itself and overwhelms all the cooling losses that can occur. Once this happens a
feedback process is generated where heating creates more fusion, which creates more heating, which creates more fusion, and so on.”
Getting to the place where a fusion reaction makes more energy than it uses, ignition, is something of a holy grail for companies which are trying to commercialize fusion and sell it as a clean energy source.
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NATIONAL CLEANUP WORKSHOP
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"CAPITALIZING ON A NEW ERA OF CLEANUP SUCCESS"
September 8-10, 2021
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, Virginia
Join senior DOE officials, Congressional leaders, DOE contractors, and state, tribal and local government leaders for the largest EM-focused gathering in the D.C. area.
Masks will be required. Safety measures will be in place and CDC guidance will be followed.
Scheduled sessions at this year's workshop include:
- A New Era for EM Cleanup
- Insights from Congress
- The Next Phase of EM Success
- Partnering with DOE on Priority Issues: Environmental Justice, Cleanup Engagement and Clean Energy Production
- Upcoming EM Acquisition Plans and Schedule
- Roundtable: Lessons Learned and Improving Project Performance
- Legislative Challenges and Opportunities for the EM Program
- Roundtable: The Future of Disposal
- The Future of the EM Workforce
- Roundtable: DOE Field Office Managers
- Congressional Staff Perspective
- Entering a New Era for Hanford Tank Waste
NUCLEAR WASTE
Laboratory to re-use legacy radioactive source
World Nuclear News | 08/16/2021
A legacy radioactive source from a US Department of Energy waste inventory is now being reused more than 40 years after it was put into storage. The collaborative effort to prepare and transport the small neutron-emitting, plutonium-beryllium source from Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) takes the 'reduce, reuse and recycle' concept to the next level, the
Department's Office of Environmental Management (EM) said.
Nov. 16-18, 2021 Intergovernmental Meeting; Nashville, TN
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
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