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Eni has signed agreements with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and its spin-off Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) for the industrial development of fusion power generation technology. it said in a statement. Eni will support CFS to develop the first commercial power plant producing energy by fusion in what it describes as `a safe. sustainable. virtually inexhaustible source without any emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases.`
CFS was created by a group of former MIT scientists and researchers who have been involved in plasma physics and fusion processes research for years. the statement said.
Eni will acquire a significant share in the company with an initial investment of $50 million. it said. adding that it will become part of the board of directors and also contribute its industrial resources and know-how. According to Eni. the activities under consideration with CFS will be divided into three phases with the first involving the development of high-temperature superconducting magnets. the second includes the realization of an experimental net energy fusion device and the third the construction and operation of the first industrial fusion plant.
The Eni statement did not provide any project details or timelines.
According to MIT`s campus newsletter MIT News. CFS scientists plan a 100 MW pilot project producing heat called SPARC within 15 years.
DECARBONIZATION STRATEGIES
`Thanks to this agreement. Eni takes a significant step forward towards the development of alternative energy sources with an ever lower environmental impact.` Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi said. adding that the agreement is part of its decarbonization strategy.
Eni`s strategy supports the development of `game changer` technologies that respond to the world`s growing energy needs with environmentally and economically sustainable solutions. it said.
`Fusion is the true energy source of the future. as it is completely sustainable. does not release emissions or long-term waste. and is potentially inexhaustible.` the Eni CEO said.
Other big European oil companies. like Shell. Statoil or Total. focus their future decarbonization strategies more on renewable energies like offshore wind or solar.
In Italy. which rejected the development of nuclear power in a referendum in 1987 following the Chernobyl disaster. renewable energy initiatives are mainly driven by utility Enel and its global Enel Green Power unit. Other nuclear fusion projects include the ITER project in Southern France. where the EU and international partners are constructing a fusion reactor on a massive scale with cost already spiraling above $10 billion. but unlikely to generate power before the 2030s.
A smaller research project called Wendelstein 7-X at Greifswald in Northern Germany has been in operation since 2015 with costs already above Eur1 billion since its research start in the late 1990s.
`Fusion. the process that powers the sun and stars. involves light elements. such as hydrogen. smashing together to form heavier elements. such as helium – releasing prodigious amounts of energy in the process.` according to the MIT campus newsletter with the US project planning to use new superconducting magnets in getting around the problem of extreme temperatures released during the process.
