Senators Warren, Cowan Urge Department of Energy to Continue Investment in MIT Fusion Energy Research Project
WASHINGTON, DC – This week, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and William “Mo” Cowan sent a letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz to make the case for continued funding from the domestic fusion energy research program for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Alcator C-Mod tokamak project, which is set to shut down due to budget uncertainty.
“The facility is the centerpiece of the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, which conducts leading research in fusion energy and is a major training site for scientists and engineers in plasma physics and nuclear engineering,” wrote Senators Warren and Cowan. “We are concerned that failing to provide funding for the facility will threaten American leadership in fusion energy research, harm the American economy in the long term, and hinder innovative efforts to develop clean, safe energy production through fusion.”
MIT is a proven leader in the field and this experiment, which explores the method of producing energy on Earth in the same manner that powers our sun is relevant and timely, as the United States seeks alternative and sustainable sources of energy. The Alcator C-Mod project is the world’s highest magnetic field tokamak plasma confinement experiment and has performed at levels that rival the world’s largest fusion experiments.
To view the letter, click here. Sen. Warren and Sen. Cowan, together with the Massachusetts Congressional delegation, previously sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman on April 8. To view the text of this letter, please click here.
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