[Exclusive] The US Succeeded in Laser Nuclear Fusion, Korea Let It Fade Away

Nuclear Research Institute Unable to Utilize High-Power Laser Facility Donated by Osaka University, Japan
Domestic Laser Nuclear Fusion Research Remains at Basic Research Level

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the United States announced on the 13th (local time) that it successfully demonstrated ignition technology, a core aspect of laser nuclear fusion. Photo by LLNL

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] While the United States has developed the core technology of laser nuclear fusion for the first time in the world and is accelerating its commercialization, it has been revealed that South Korea, despite having related research facilities over a decade ago, has effectively let them fall into disuse.

According to the scientific community on the 14th, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) received and installed a 1-kilojoule (KJ) high-energy laser facility capable of laser nuclear fusion research from the Institute of Laser Engineering (ILE) at Osaka University, Japan, in 2008. At that time, 3.6 billion KRW was invested solely for the transfer and installation costs over three years starting from 2005. This was fully funded by the government as part of the Nuclear Energy Research Infrastructure Expansion Project. The facility was later refurbished twice with an additional investment of about 3 billion KRW.

However, this facility was never utilized for domestic laser nuclear fusion research afterward. This was because interest and support were concentrated on the Korean-style fusion reactor (K-STAR) using a completely different method called the 'Tokamak' method, which uses magnetic fields, and the establishment of the National Fusion Research Institute (now the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy). In South Korea, a 4-petawatt ultra-strong femtosecond laser facility was built and is being used at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) since 2004, but its purpose is far from full-fledged laser nuclear fusion research.

Dr. Lim Chang-hwan of KAERI said, "The laser facility was installed as part of attracting overseas research institutions, and until around 2015, laser nuclear fusion research was conducted as an international cooperative project with Japan, China, and others," but added, "Since then, there has been no progress due to the lack of proper domestic research funding."

Professor Bang Woo-seok of GIST also said, "Currently, only basic research such as fusion reaction cross-section studies is being conducted domestically," and added, "The United States is leading the field, having invested over 5 trillion KRW five years ago to build the National Ignition Facility and focused research efforts to achieve results."

Professor Bang emphasized the need to continue laser nuclear fusion research domestically. He said, "While Korea is progressing well with Tokamak-based fusion research such as K-STAR, the recent announcement by the U.S. confirmed that there can be various methods of fusion," and pointed out, "We should not focus solely on Tokamak but also pay attention to laser nuclear fusion methods and continue research and development."

Earlier, the U.S. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) announced on the 13th that on the 5th, it had achieved a milestone by producing more energy than the input energy for the first time in the history of laser nuclear fusion research. The research team focused 192 high-power lasers on a small 1mm metal sphere, successfully forcing the fusion of deuterium and tritium atoms inside. In this process, they input 2.05 megajoules (1J=1 Newton) of energy and produced 3.15 megajoules of energy. LLNL stated, "We have succeeded in proving the most fundamental scientific principle of laser nuclear fusion energy."

Regarding this, Professor Bang explained, "This is the first achievement of ignition technology, an important step toward commercialization." According to Professor Bang, fusion ignition is a state in the hydrogen atom fusion process where helium is produced, and without additional energy input, the nuclear fuel heats itself and sustains the reaction. Until now, except for hydrogen bombs detonating, this is the first time humanity has achieved fusion ignition in a laboratory setting.

However, commercialization is still a long way off. Professor Bang said, "The U.S. also expects at least 10 to 20-30 years, and this ignition technology success may accelerate the timeline," adding, "About 30 private companies are conducting research and development aiming for commercialization in the 2030s, so the outcome depends on how much investment is made." There are also technical challenges. High-power lasers must be fired several times per second, and facilities need to be scaled up and simplified for actual power generation. Issues such as nuclear fuel production and power supply remain significant challenges.

Fusion energy research aims to reproduce the process of light atoms like hydrogen fusing, as in the sun, on Earth to generate electricity. If realized, it is considered a "dream energy source" capable of providing infinite clean energy at low cost. Laser nuclear fusion is 'Inertial Confinement Fusion,' which forces fusion by injecting hydrogen into a small sphere less than 1mm and focusing high-power laser energy. In contrast, 'Magnetic Confinement Fusion' traps plasma generated during fusion using magnetic fields, as in K-STAR operated by the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy. South Korea is at the forefront, having succeeded last year in continuous operation for 30 seconds at ion temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees. It is also participating in the international fusion experimental reactor (ITER) construction project. For commercialization, challenges remain, such as technologies to maintain the ultra-high temperature plasma state for a long time and to enhance the durability of fusion reactors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.