US aims to create nuclear fusion facility within 10 years: US Energy chief

United States Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the Biden administration hopes to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years as part of the nation's transition to clean energy.

During an interview with the Associated Press in Vienna, Granholm said nuclear fusion is a pioneering technology, and Joe Biden wants to harness fusion as a carbon-free energy source that powers homes and businesses.

"It's not out of the realm of possibility" that the US could achieve Biden's "decadal vision of commercial fusion."

Fusion, unlike fission currently used in nuclear reactors, works by combining hydrogen atoms with such force that they combine into helium and release enormous amounts of heat and energy. This process does not create radioactive waste, and its proponents hope it could supplant fossil fuels and other more traditional energy sources. However this goal is still decades away.

The first successful nuclear fusion experiment that resulted in energy positive production happened last December at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

This was a major breakthrough after decades of work and research.