A Burnaby-based company that would change how the world flicks a switch will be speaking at a world energy conference next week.
General Fusion has been invited to speak as a discussion leader at the 22nd World Energy Congress being held in Daegu, South Korea from Oct. 13 to 17, which is recognized as the globe's leading global energy market conference.
"To be invited to the World Energy Congress, alongside the leaders of the largest international fusion projects, demonstrates the growing level of interest around the globe in General Fusion's magnetized target fusion technology and its superior potential for commercialization," said Doug Richardson, General Fusion's CEO and chief technology officer, in a media release.
Jacques Besnainou will represent General Fusion at the conference. He is a current board member and former president and CEO of AREVA - where he set the direction for its nuclear renewable energy business in North America.
Although General Fusion was established in 2002 with the intention of producing a clean, safe and abundant energy source, it was under fire two years ago when a University of British Columbia nuclear theorist came forward to say what the company was doing was potentially quite dangerous and risking people's lives.
The company, which is still in its research phase, was deemed safe by the city since the nuclear fusion power plant was not yet up and running.
If and when General Fusion is ready to test the generator, with any nuclear reaction involved, it would need the approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
Unlike nuclear reactors, fusion energy does not require uranium and is therefore not prone to the same form of meltdowns as nuclear power plants - as seen most recently in Fukushima, Japan.
Nuclear fusion has been described by General Fusion as "a process in which hydrogen atoms are fused together to form helium. The reaction releases significant amounts of heat, which can be used to generate electricity using traditional steam turbines."
