Researchers boost nuclear fusion reactions with simple electrochemical trick
UBC researchers have dusted off a once-controversial 1980s cold fusion theory and used it to make nuclear fusion reactions happen more often.
By loading deuterium into palladium metal with a simple electrochemical trick, they've created a new platform for studying and potentially improving fusion processes.
The Thunderbird Reactor
Their tabletop Thunderbird Reactor—think plasma thruster meets vacuum chamber—managed to pack deuterium into palladium at pressures equal to 800 atmospheres, using just one volt of electricity.
This dense fuel setup led to a repeatable 15% jump in actual fusion reactions, proven by neutron emissions.
Practical clean energy from fusion in the future
While the experiment still used up more energy than it made, the team believes their method could help researchers everywhere study and improve nuclear fusion without giant labs.
If others build on these results, we might get closer to practical clean energy from fusion in the future.