Fusion is already spanning the globe with a diversity of research.  In this Google Earth tour, blast off from New York to Paris and onward to the south of France, where Cadarache Forest gives way to the vast scope of Iter, the international megaproject that may lead to fusion power into the grid by 2040.

...Then swing back past Lady Liberty to where a more modest effort is cranking the heat up to a billion degrees.  Here not far from Edison’s labs, the FoFu-1 dense plasma focus and its armament of instrumentation could determine in the next year the scientific feasibility of net energy from a very different and even cleaner fusion approach.  Learn more with a final landing at the Googleplex itself, where the now-in-progress experiment was outlined in a Tech Talk by fusion scientist Eric Lerner.

Note that this page has been updated.  Please visit the current version for the latest information and to comment.

Wondering what to do on Earth day to promote fusion?  Try out the “Aneutronic Fusion Concept Monitor - beta” (pdf file).

Inspired by the HSBC Climate Confidence Monitor (“CCM”), we propose a Fusion Confidence Monitor.

On February 16-19, PPPL hosted the ICC Workshop (Innovative Confinement Concepts).  This coincided with Bill Gates’ TED talk, in which he proposed nuclear fission innovations as a solution to the world energy+CO2 crisis.  These two events can be juxtaposed with proactive implications for Fusion research strategy.

The House (of Reps) Subcommittee on Energy & Environment Hearing on “The Next Generation of Fusion Energy Research” was held Thursday, Oct. 29 from 10-12.  This event can be seen here (RealPlayer required).

Unfortunately, LPP’s concept paper for ARPA-E was not chosen as one of those to be elaborated into a full application.

3500 applications, about 75 grants 50-1 odds.

The notification of acceptance of ARPA-E concept paper has been delayed to mid-July.

A futures market has now been opened for Focus Fusion at Intrade.com under Scientific—Focus Fusion.  Here is how the contract is phrased:

Will net power be generated using the Focus Fusion process?
Focus Fusion process to generate net power before midnight ET on 31 Dec 2014.