59. Brandon Sorbom, Co-Founder and CSO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems

Episode 59: The Cherry on Top of Decades of Fusion Development  

Brandon Sorbom, Chief Science Officer and Co-founder of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, is helping spend $3+ billion to turn hydrogen into abundant, safe and readily available energy. In our fourth fusion episode, Brandon educates us on the most time-tested approach to fusion which uses powerful magnets. CFS hopes to deliver commercial energy by the early 2030s. 

0:00 Introduction 

02:33 The Journey from MIT to Commonwealth Fusion Systems 

04:30 Securing Funding and Building Credibility 

05:44 Understanding Fusion and Tokamaks 

08:44 Brandon’s Personal Journey to Fusion 

12:34 Explaining the Tokamak and Fusion Process 

28:23 Neutrons and Energy Conversion 

31:39 High Temperature Superconducting Material 

39:26 Scaling Up Production and Cost Considerations 

42:53 The SPARC Prototype and Its Challenges 

48:23 Transitioning from Spark to ARC 

01:04:59 Conclusion and Final Thoughts