Great Scott! Google Jumps Into Fusion Power Like It's 2030...Something Tells Me We'll Need More Than Just a DeLorean!

A Girl's Gotta Power the World Right?

Right then darlings! Lara Croft here reporting live from... well not exactly from the future but certainly peeking into it. Word on the street (or rather from the press releases) is that Google is getting into bed with Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) a spin off from MIT. Seems they're planning to buy a whopping 200 megawatts of clean fusion power from CFS's ARC plant in Chesterfield County Virginia. And here I was thinking my adventures were the only thing that could generate that much energy!"It's all about balance," as my old friend Werner Von Croy used to say. Though I doubt he ever envisioned this kind of balance sheet.

Virginia is for Fusion Lovers

This ARC plant is supposed to be the world's first grid scale fusion power plant. Fusion you say? Yes the same process that powers the sun. Only this time without the whole 'melting everything in a million mile radius' side effect. They're aiming to get this thing online in the early 2030s pumping out 400 megawatts of zero carbon power. Enough to power large industrial sites or roughly 150,000 homes! Makes raiding tombs seem almost... quaint.

Google's All In. But At What Cost?

Google's been investing in CFS since 2021 and is upping the ante. They're not disclosing the financial terms of course. Which begs the question: What ancient artifact did they have to trade for all this fusion goodness? A Philosopher's Stone perhaps?"I make my own luck," but I suspect Google might be relying on a bit more than that. Michael Terrell at Google stated that they're excited to bet on this technology. Let's hope this technology is ready to bet on them too.

Hot Stuff: Fusion 101 with Lara Croft

For those of you who skipped science class to say raid a few tombs (guilty!) fusion involves heating light atomic nuclei to over 100 million degrees Celsius. That's hotter than a date with Vlad! This turns the fuel into plasma which then fuses releasing energy to create carbon free electricity. "Knowledge is power," after all. And knowing how to generate clean energy is a pretty powerful thing.

The Race is On! Google's Playing the Field

CFS isn't the only player in this fusion game. Google's also throwing money at TAE Technologies. It seems like everyone is racing to achieve commercial scale fusion energy. This is good. The more competition the faster we get to a future where energy comes from controlled mini suns not dirty old fossil fuels. As Winston Churchill said (paraphrasing slightly) "Never give in – never never never never give in where fusion is concerned!"

So What Does This All Mean?

If all goes according to plan the world could be looking at a new era of clean abundant energy. That would certainly make things easier for those of us trying to save the planet one artifact at a time. But I'm not holding my breath just yet. In the meantime I'll keep packing my dual pistols and my wits just in case we need to find another way to power the world. After all "the greatest mysteries are yet to be discovered."