A Better Name for Nuclear Fusion?

There must be a better name for “thermonuclear-fusion”. Nomenclature frames the menagerie of our mindset. And the brand associations with “thermonuclear” are not entirely positive, especially when it’s moving in next door. To “nuke” something is rarely positive as a mimetic verb, at least on this planet. “Nuclear” even has a default emoji ☢️

I like “Fusion Energy” but maybe something more creative, like “Syn-Solar” could drive the point home that fusion is the opposite of nuclear fission (which is the “nuclear” we know and love in bombs and all existing nuclear power plants). Fusion has no uranium and no reactor meltdown risk.

So, this was one of the high-level topics at the DOE’s BETHE event underway today. The acronym? “Breakthroughs Enabling THermonuclear-fusion Energy”.

We have not needed to make the distinction clear because there has not been a fusion plant built nor a net energy generator demonstrated… yet. But Commonwealth Fusion, and some other awardee companies presenting here, are working to build these baseload power plants in the near future.

“ARPA-E believes that a commercial fusion power plant should target an overnight capital cost of BETHE