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For decades, the joke was that nuclear fusion would always be 30 years away. Harnessing the process that powers our sun here on Earth was a lofty thought experiment ripped from the pages of a science fiction novel that smacked of futurism rather than pragmatism. But in the last few years, the rate of technological breakthroughs has sped up astronomically, finally making commercial fusion a matter of when, not if. Achieving fusion here on Earth requires staggering levels of heat – in the region of 100 million degrees Celsius –…
I’ve followed the promise of small modular reactors (SMRs) and next-generation nuclear in several of my earlier pieces on OilPrice. The argument is familiar: nuclear provides low-carbon baseload, ensures energy security, and will one day deliver affordable, clean power. It sounds persuasive, until you look at the numbers. New nuclear remains slow, expensive, and deeply reliant on state support. In today’s European power markets, where renewables are already driving prices to record lows or even negative territory, the idea that nuclear…
Many of the 80-plus countries at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil are pushing for a detailed road map that would phase out fossil fuels. Brazil has the presidency of the 30th conference of the parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the treaty signed in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro that binds the world to “avoid dangerous climate change”, without specifying how to do so. COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago is reportedly pushing for a decision on four issues that weren’t on the original agenda,…
Iraqis voted in a parliamentary election on 11 November and, though pre-election surveys predicted a record-low turnout, the final total turnout was 56.11% according to the Independent High Electoral Commission. (Turnout for the 2021 parliamentary election was 43.3%.) Incumbent prime minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani’s Construction and Development Coalition, won 46 seats in the 329-seat Council of Representatives of Iraq. Now the election is over and Sudani faces the task of building a governing coalition. (After the 2021 election,…
Is AI in a bubble? When will the bubble burst? Are there signs? Well, we don’t have a crystal ball, but there are signs. On the markets, several prominent investors have spoken. Peter Thiel, one of the best-known tech investors, has sold his entire position in Nvidia. SoftBank, a huge Japanese tech investor is unloading its shares, too. Meanwhile, Michael Burry, of Big Short fame, warns of an impending bubble burst. And the head of Swedish fintech Klarna, a man with major AI holdings, said that he’s thinking of hedging his positions…
