Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Energy for the Future
Harnessing the energy of the sun and stars to meet the Earth's energy needs has been a decades-long scientific and engineering challenge. While a self-sustaining fusion burn has been achieved for 
The thermonuclear fusing of hydrogen atoms from water in fusion power plants may someday supply virtually unlimited electricity.brief periods under experimental conditions, the amount of energy that went into creating it was greater than the amount of energy it generated. There was no energy gain, which is essential if fusion energy is ever to supply a continuous stream of electricity. If it is successful, the National Ignition Facility will be the first inertial confinement fusion facility to demonstrate ignition and a self-sustaining fusion burn. In the process, NIF's fusion targets will release 10 to 100 times more energy than the amount of laser energy required to initiate the fusion reaction.
The nuclear power plants in use around the world today utilize fission, or the splitting of heavy atoms such as uranium, to release energy for electricity. A fusion power plant, on the other hand, will generate energy by fusing atoms of deuterium and tritium—two isotopes of hydrogen, the lightest element. Deuterium will be extracted from abundant seawater, and tritium will be produced by the transmutation of lithium, a common element in soil. When the hydrogen nuclei fuse under the intense temperatures and pressures in the NIF target capsule, 
a helium nucleus is formed and a small amount of mass lost in the reaction is converted to a large amount of energy according to Einstein's formula E=mc2.
A fusion power plant would produce no greenhouse gas emissions, operate continuously to meet demand, and produce shorter-lived and less hazardous radioactive byproducts than current fission power plants. A fusion power plant would also present no danger of a meltdown.
Because nuclear fusion offers the potential for virtually unlimited safe and environmentally benign energy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made fusion a key element in the nation's long-term energy plans.
The goal of the National Ignition Facility is to achieve fusion by compressing and heating a pea-sized capsule containing a mixture of deuterium and tritium with the energy of 192 powerful laser beams. This process will cause the fusion fuel to ignite and burn, producing more energy than the energy in the laser pulse and creating a miniature star here on Earth (see How to Make a Star). With NIF, conditions are ideal for achieving fusion ignition, fusion burn and energy gain.
Ignition experiments at NIF will set the stage for one of the most exciting applications of inertial confinement fusion one could imagine—production of electricity in a fusion power plant.
To learn more about NIF's efforts to lay the groundwork for fusion energy—clean, safe, abundant energy for the future—visit the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) page on this Website or visit the LIFE Website.
Artist's concept of a Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) power plant.
