Reply To: turn heat into electricity

[Brian H]

Once upon a time Kenneth Chang did a story on Focus Fusion. Below is a copy/paste of the exchange I had with him:

From: Kenneth Chang
Subject: Re: READER MAIL: Kenneth Chang
To: brianfh01@yahoo.ca
Received: Friday, June 5, 2009, 3:49 PM

Please send me details. If it’s as you describe, yes, of course, I’d be interested. Thank you.

On Fri, Jun 5, 2009 at 4:49 PM, NYTimes.com wrote:

To: KENNETH CHANG

You have received reader mail via nytimes.com. To respond to this reader, simply ‘reply’ to this message.

READER’S NAME:
Brian Hall

READER’S E-MAIL:
brianfh01@yahoo.ca

READER’S MESSAGE:
Hi, Kenneth; A bit over 2 years ago, you did an article on various fusion energy approaches, and in it made some mention of Focus Fusion. There have been considerable developments since then which you might like to revisit. First, last fall the project received funding from private investors and the Abell Foundation, each about half of a total 1.2 million. This was sufficient to embark on the scientific proof-of-concept experiments, now in the late stages of assembly and preparation (for late June, early July ’09). By about the end of ’10, these are expected to be complete. If as successful as anticipated (better than break-even using hydrogen-boron fusion), it should be a simple matter to obtain engineering funding to finalize designs for a mass-produceable generator, about a 3-year project. These would be licensed for manufacture anywhere and everywhere on the planet. In other words, by about 2014 some of the generators should be coming on-line. They would take over electric production rapidly wherever introduced, as their capital and production costs are around 5% of conventional sources. Specifically, about 5¢/W to build, and billed at ~0.3¢/kwh. Economics will oblige their rapid adoption. The net benefits of such massive energy cost reductions would be a ‘de facto’ surge in deployable wealth and resources for virtually everyone on the planet. AGW will be an unpleasant memory of a temporary confusion. Sound newsworthy to you?

ARTICLE REFERENCED (if any):
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/science/27fusion.html

—
Kenneth Chang
Science Reporter
The New York Times
(212) 556-7271

I responded the same day:
[Cont.]