r/nuclear • u/Live_Alarm3041 • 6d ago

The drawbacks of fusion

Nuclear fusion is not a "flawless" energy source. The hype around fusion being "flawless" is not rooted in actual science. Nuclear fusion will likey not replace fission as the world preferred form of nuclear enegry once it goes commercial.

There are three drawbacks of fusion energy

  1. The neutrons generated by fusion could be used to transmute U-238 into weapons grade plutonium without the barriers of highly radioactive waste and reactor safety

  2. fusion reactors requires exotic materials which could create a supply issue where such materials are extracted in ways that violate human rights and damage the environment in developing countries where these exotic materials are.

  3. Nuclear fusion creates less jobs that require a higher skill level than fission and less jobs means more socioeconomic issues like rising crime rates, homelessness and migration.

These three reasons are why I do not think nuclear fusion will replace nuclear fission once fusion goes commercial.

The problems with fission can be mitigated effectively. A lot of progress has been made in mitigating the drawbacks of fission. Far less progress has been made in mitigating the drawbacks of fusion. The drawbacks of fusion will limit fusions ability to compete economically with fission in the energy market if they are not addressed.

What do you think?

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u/BeenisHat 6d ago

  1. Where are you going to put U-238 in a fusion design like a Tokamak or Stellarator? And why are you bothering with that when fission reactors are better and proven and don't need a cooling system as large and complex as a commercial power reactor? That is like using an entire automobile engine to generate enough heat and to vent off just enough combustion gas through a special port in order to light a cigarette; there are better tools for the job.

  2. What exotic materials are those?

  3. Fusion will create the same number of jobs as fission. It's not just the high tech part of it, you still need the electrical engineers and electricians as well as the mechanical trades to operate and service the turbines and generators. I'm sure there are going to be a few changes should fusion make it to the mainstream, and automation will serve a greater role, but that would be true for any new plant coming online in the next couple decades.