America’s largest steelmaker is turning to nuclear fusion

Nucor, the largest steel company in North America, announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with nuclear startup Helion Energy to develop a fusion reactor plant that will power one of Nucor’s steel mills by 2030.

⚛️ Why it’s a big deal: The agreement represents a bet on nuclear fusion, aka the smashing of two atoms together to produce one, which is widely considered the “holy grail” of energy production. This method promises essentially limitless amounts of clean energy, but without the Chernobyl downside.

• On a pound-for-pound basis, fusion generates nearly 4 million times more energy than coal, oil, or gas. It’s also how the sun generates 100% of its power.
• Scientists have been experimenting with fusion since the 1950s, but were unable to create a reactor that produces more energy than it takes to start up – that is, until Department of Energy researchers built a new model that’s now done so twice in the past ten months.

👀 Looking ahead… Nucor says the 500-megawatt fusion plant – enough to power half-a-million homes – is part of a company-wide transition to greener sources of electricity for making steel, which has one of the world’s most energy-intensive manufacturing processes.

• More than 1% of all energy consumed in the US is used to produce steel.