Germany Shifts to Nuclear Fusion After Fukushima-Era Fission Policy

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2025/12/08/germany-shifts-to-nuclear-fusion-after-fukushima-era-fission-policy/

by mpweiher • 7 months ago

4 15 7 months ago

forbes.com

palata5• 7 months ago

It wasn't clear to the people (at least to me) that moving away from nuclear energy was a bad idea, but nowadays I think it should be. And to be fair, back then Germany should have listened to experts because they already knew.

Now betting on fusion sounds like Germany doesn't want to acknowledge that it was a mistake. "We were right, we're just moving to fusion right away". Except that fusion is nowhere ready. And nuclear fission is not as big a problem as people thought.

damnitbuilds2• 7 months ago

Clever people knew it was a stupid move but, as with Brexit, all the people were allowed to decide a complex issue and made the wrong choice. Governments should by now have learnt not to do that.

I agree that fission is (still) the way to go, with fusion worth researching but still too unsure to rely on. A good article would have noted that view.

ZeroGravitas2• 7 months ago

In hindsight switching to renewables from nuclear was a great idea.

It's also obvious in hindsight that politicians on the right have been sabotaging it all along, and despite that it still worked out okay and probably helped save the world.

Imagine the whole government was consistently behind wind, solar, EV, batteries, heat pumps etc. manufacturing and deployment, they'd be more resilient to Russia and better placed to compete with China.

It's notable that the more a German political party supports nuclear, the less they support EVs and heat pumps. Which suggests it's a disingenuous distraction for them.

palata5• 7 months ago

In hindsight switching to renewables from nuclear was a great idea.

I'm genuinely confused.

sonuhia• 7 months ago

Germans don't shift. The execute stages of precisely calculated, long-term plans which are need-to-know for multi-functional, cross-sector reasons across existing, predicted and emerging industries and cultural and sub-cultural developments.

It took me a while to understand why it looked like it was the "left" and the green parties that fucked up a golden energy future, but now I understand. With the "more right" parties and style of governance, things will get better, which would not have happened if the former wasn't also true.

Well played.

damnitbuilds2• 7 months ago

"While commercial fusion is still roughly a decade away"

Gonna need more than a few citations for that, Ken.

mpweiher2• 7 months ago

https://news.mit.edu/2024/commonwealth-fusion-systems-unveil...

Germany Shifts to Nuclear Fusion After Fukushima-Era Fission Policy

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