Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Hails U.S. Department Of Energy Announcement Of Historic Fusion Energy Breakthrough

WASHINGTON – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Solar Caucus and a member of the bipartisan Fusion Energy Caucus, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announcing the first ever meaningful net energy gain from a human-controlled fusion ignition and fusion energy reaction in a December 5th experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) National Ignition Facility:

"For the first time, human beings have succeeded in igniting a human-controlled fusion energy reaction while generating a meaningful net energy gain through this experiment. While an initial breakthrough, the achievement of the scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is a potentially momentous step in the long path toward using fusion reactions to provide virtually unlimited, clean, inexpensive energy without emissions and environmental risks. This achievement is a testament to what can be achieved when American ingenuity and resources are deployed against even the most difficult of problems. While enormous work remains, the success of this experiment sends a clear message to every branch of our government for the need to help scale up research and development support for such technologies to set us on a new course toward our clean energy future."