Infinite Energy, Infinite Destruction and a Limited World

Abundant or infinite energy may not be the utopia that we think it is

Photo by Nicolas HIPPERT on Unsplash

The US National Ignition Facility announced today a breakthrough in energy technology¹, the grand objective has been reached - fusion ignition has been achieved! Hailed as “an announcement decades in the making” by the US Energy Agency, it truly is a momentous occasion and one that is causing much jubilation amongst commentators about the possibility of unlimited ‘clean’ energy. At a time when energy markets are in turmoil due to the Russian-Ukraine war and energy prices are reaching unprecedented highs for businesses and households alike, today’s news seems like a burst of light at the end of a bleak tunnel.

For environmentalists, too, there is supposedly much to cheer about. The global demand for energy is not going to abate anytime soon, so the possibility of substituting dirty coal, oil, and gas along with their climate-changing greenhouse emissions for ‘clean’ hydrogen fusion is to be celebrated. Perhaps this means that the predicted severe impacts of future global warming will be averted after all. So, can we all breathe a collective giant sigh of relief?

Not so fast.

Firstly, the technology is still in its infancy and there is no guarantee it can be sufficiently scaled up to satisfy growing global energy demands. Even if it can be scaled, we will have to wait perhaps 20-30 years before the technology and infrastructure needed for widespread fusion is in place and operational. In the meantime, carbon emissions will continue their rapid ascent, edging us closer to ecological and hydrological tipping points that lead to significant biological, climatic, and social change.

Secondly, there is one gigantic sector that is not cheering today’s news - the fossil fuel industry. Nuclear fusion threatens the fossil fuel industries’ dominance of energy markets and the huge profits that can be reaped by reigning supreme in the energy sector. Shareholders, investors, and CEOs all have a vested interest in the energy status quo remaining as it is. We can assume that they will try to discredit and downplay the technology and hamper efforts for the widespread deployment of nuclear fusion. A large part of the reason for this is the system lock-ins surrounding fossil fuel technology and infrastructure². Debt remains to be serviced on pipelines, power stations, and mines, and investors are committed and “locked” into these projects. If these projects, technologies, and industries become redundant, not only will millions of jobs be lost, but trillions of pounds of investment will go up in smoke on the now useless infrastructure that will be left to rust away. This is a crisis that “big oil” will wish to avert with every ounce of its being.

Thus a healthy dose of scepticism is called for on whether nuclear fusion will become an everyday part of our lives and at the very least, the fusionists must be very patient. But there is a deeper reason to be cautious about today’s announcement. To put it simply, if nuclear fusion were to become a reality it would put seemingly infinite energy in our hands - which is a power we are not wise enough to use well. Power corrupts, as the old adage goes, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In light of today’s news, we can go a step further - infinite power corrupts infinitely. If we are not incredibly careful, that will be the eventual outcome of today’s announcement.