This infographic shows how nuclear fusion really works

The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a fusion ignition breakthrough, producing 3.15 MJ of energy from a 2.05 MJ laser input. While nuclear fusion offers a clean energy source using hydrogen isotopes from seawater and lithium, commercialization is expected to take decades as systems must be developed to produce many ignition events per minute.

• Scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), part of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), achieved a first-time breakthrough by producing more energy from a nuclear fusion experiment than the laser energy used to power it.
• The specific experiment used inertial confinement fusion to deliver 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of energy to a hydrogen plasma target, resulting in a fusion energy output of 3.15 MJ.
• Nuclear fusion is characterized as a clean energy source because it avoids harmful atmospheric emissions and generates only a small quantity of short-lived radioactive waste.
• The process utilizes hydrogen isotopes—deuterium, found in seawater, and tritium, obtained by irradiating lithium—making the fuel sources highly accessible.
• Despite the breakthrough, commercialization is expected to take decades because the technology must evolve to produce numerous fusion ignition events per minute and implement a robust system of drivers.

APA

Belan, M. (2022). This infographic shows how nuclear fusion really works. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/infographic-how-nuclear-fusion-works/

Chicago

Belan, Mark. This infographic shows how nuclear fusion really works. World Economic Forum, 2022. https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/infographic-how-nuclear-fusion-works/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Belan |first1=Mark |title=This infographic shows how nuclear fusion really works |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=22 December 2022 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/infographic-how-nuclear-fusion-works/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{belan2022this, author = {Belan, Mark}, title = {{This infographic shows how nuclear fusion really works}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/energy-transition/infographic-how-nuclear-fusion-works/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }