Department of Energy announced a breakthrough in the decades-long quest
to recreate on Earth the process that powers the Sun: nuclear fusion. To
simplify slightly, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory in California recently fired a bunch of lasers at a piece of
hydrogen. The lasers used 2.05 megajoules of energy to hit the hydrogen.
The resulting reaction produced 3 megajoules of energy.

For the first time in the history of fusion research, scientists
achieved ignition — more energy was produced by the reaction than was
used to create it. Here in Washington, and the world of politics, no
elected official was as excited about these results as Rep. Don Beyer
(D-Va.).

Beyer is the former lieutenant governor of Virginia and was an
ambassador in the Obama administration. A few years ago, Beyer became
consumed with the promise of fusion. How it could become a cheap and
plentiful alternative to fossil fuels. How it could solve the climate
crisis.

In this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host Ryan Lizza joins Congressman
Beyer to explore the policy and politics of this big scientific
breakthrough. Is it the turning point we’ve been promised for decades,
or will it once again lead to the same dashed expectations that has
long-characterized the history of fusion research?