(Reuters) -U.S. scientists have achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the second time since December, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (NYSE:LH) said on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scientists at the California-based lab repeated the fusion ignition breakthrough in an experiment in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on July 30 that produced a higher energy yield than in December, a Lawrence Livermore spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final results are still being analyzed, the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lawrence Livermore achieved a net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers on Dec. 5, 2022. The scientists focused a laser on a target of fuel to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing the energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That experiment briefly achieved what’s known as fusion ignition by generating 3.15 megajoules of energy output after the laser delivered 2.05 megajoules to the target, the Energy Department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it, the department said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Energy Department called it “a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scientists have known for about a century that fusion powers the sun and have pursued developing fusion on Earth for decades. Such a breakthrough could one day help curb climate change if companies can scale up the technology to a commercial level in the coming decades.<\/p>\n