No, this is not about the Presidential Debate last night September 29th.

The New York Times has an interesting story about a tech start-up in Massachusetts that is raising funds and planning to construct a test reactor for nuclear fusion.

Working with MIT the start-up Commonwealth Fusion Systems hopes to have their reactor built in just 3-4 years and if all goes according to their plans producing net gain energy from fusion.

We have seen this road before and it has, to date, only led to washed-out bridge, collapsed tunnels, and chasms yet to be spanned, but things are impossible to achieve until they aren’t. This is not some fly-by-night operation working without the benefit of major scientific and technological might and several physicists have publisher papers agreeing that this approach looks sound.

It may still fail.

It may yet be another crushing disappointment.

It may also work.

We need something like this. While viable fusion power would attract attacks from both the lest and the right it would be a huge leap forward in de-carbonizing our energy systems.