N1BOS — broadcast
20260917 113000 UTC
287 transcript segments
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[00:00:06] more air conditioners, more data centers, more electric
[00:00:10] cars, around the world, we're using more and more
[00:00:13] electricity,
[00:00:15] but there's good news, wind and solar power are stepping up to
[00:00:19] meet that demand, less fossil fuels, more
[00:00:22] renewables, the green energy transition is
[00:00:25] underway, and scientists are working on something even
[00:00:28] bigger, nuclear... Fusion, it's a potential game changer,
[00:00:32] unlimited energy emission
[00:00:34] free.
[00:00:37] Join us for electrifying insights on this edition of
[00:00:47] sun? What does a blowpipe have to do with a
[00:00:50] furnace, and what happened on May 22nd,
[00:00:53] 2025. A really exciting day here at the
[00:00:57] Institute. It was top not.
[00:01:01] but first things first, let's start with our
[00:01:04] everburning star and a question: can the suns
[00:01:08] fusion process be replicated to produce energy here on
[00:01:11] earth? scientists have been trying and failing to
[00:01:15] achieve this for decades.
[00:01:18] we still don't have commercial fusion reactors, but we do have
[00:01:22] research facilities like Wendelstein 7x in
[00:01:26] northeast Germany. it was purpose built to develop a stellar.
[00:01:32] lot today, they are not afraid of
[00:02:16] we feed in hydrogen gas which is ionized by heater
[00:02:20] and turned into a
[00:02:21] plasma.
[00:02:24] here's how it works: inside the machine is vacuum
[00:02:28] chamber shaped like twisted.
[00:02:31] I buy here. Retinal surgery and yellow donut: normally, a tiny amount of hydrogen
[00:02:34] enters as a gas through a valve and is heated to extreme
[00:02:38] temperatures.
[00:02:41] microwaves then strike the hydrogen atoms,
[00:02:44] ionizing them and transforming the gas into a plasma,
[00:02:48] heated to tens of millions of degrees
[00:02:50] celsius. the plasma discharge then stayed at
[00:02:54] those temperatures for a record breaking 43
[00:02:57] seconds.
[00:04:00] generated by a complex array of magnets.
[00:04:04] They keep the plasma from touching the chamber walls because
[00:04:08] contact would cool it down instantly.
[00:04:11] Designing the W7X magnet configuration required
[00:04:14] supercomputers and years of
[00:04:16] planning.
[00:04:18] So, when can we expect the first Fusion Reactor to go
[00:04:22] online?
[00:04:25] A conservative estimate says sometime in the second half of the
[00:04:29] century. 2060 or 2070, something like
[00:04:32] that, but it's pointless to speculate, because
[00:04:36] we could also take a much bolder unconventional approach. in
[00:04:39] fact, many startups are doing that.
[00:04:43] there are now about 50 fusion startups worldwide, taking a
[00:04:47] variety of approaches. they're
[00:04:49] aiming for success in the 2030s, which is practically
[00:04:52] tomorrow. but whether it will be the 2030s or the
[00:04:55] 2070s is something that no one can say for
[00:04:58] sure.
[00:05:05] feel proud that we are taking action in
[00:05:12] back and chasing new
[00:05:14] records.
[00:05:19] Did you know that nuclear fishion, the process behind nuclear power
[00:05:22] today, is considered more dangerous than nuclear
[00:05:26] fusion. Fishing accidents can release massive
[00:05:29] amounts of radioactive material, as happened in
[00:05:32] Fukushima and Chernoble.
[00:05:35] Fusion is safer, and doesn't produce high-level radioactive
[00:05:38] waste that must be stored safely for millennia.
[00:05:42] Finland is betting a future powered by nuclear
[00:05:45] fishion.
[00:05:50] The Olkiluato peninsula on Finland's west coast
[00:05:53] is one of the country's most important energy
[00:05:56] hubs. It's home to three nuclear reactor
[00:05:59] units. The newest one went into commercial operation in
[00:06:03] 2023. The turbine hall is where the massive generators
[00:06:07] are located. They're driven by heat from the reactor, which is
[00:06:11] how the electricity is.
[00:06:28] The facility covers about 14% of Finland's electricity production. The company's press officer says public concerns were
[00:06:31] minimal. We have been measuring for 40 years
[00:06:34] this what people fear and what what how do they like
[00:06:38] nuclear power and they they r like?
[00:06:44] the waste, it's not a major concern
[00:06:48] anymore, we have solution here in alkalo, so the
[00:06:51] support for nuclear is good in every
[00:06:55] party, but there were some problems here
[00:06:58] too, construction was supposed to last from 2005 to
[00:07:02] 2009, but in the end it took 14 additional
[00:07:06] years. the project was plagued with delays including loose
[00:07:10] parts in the turbine and issues with the... instrumentation and control
[00:07:14] system after multiple repairs, the final cost had
[00:07:17] 11 billion euros, about four times the original
[00:07:20] budget, so we were we were pioneers, so there was
[00:07:24] a long break that nobody was building here in western
[00:07:28] Europe nuclear power,
[00:07:30] so the readiness to build was not
[00:07:34] very good, and also the power plant was new
[00:07:37] design and it was
[00:07:41] uh not... designed in detail level, so
[00:07:45] plans were changed during the project, but
[00:07:48] there were no protests over the delays and soaring
[00:07:51] costs, and now the new plant is delivering
[00:07:55] electricity to the country. as in
[00:07:57] France, in Finland, nuclear energy is considered green
[00:08:01] energy. the operator has proudly called the new
[00:08:05] reactor Finland's largest climate
[00:08:07] project.
[00:08:11] Finland is one of several. European nations investing in nuclear
[00:08:14] energy, new reactors are underway in
[00:08:17] France, and Slovakia, while Poland
[00:08:20] is preparing to build its first commercial nuclear power
[00:08:23] plant.
[00:08:26] The question is, what is ultimately the better
[00:08:29] path. I think that when you look at new build
[00:08:32] projects today, the cost increases they
[00:08:35] incur, the long time lines they involve,
[00:08:39] and if you also look at the economic costs of renewables today. and
[00:08:43] compare that to investments in new nuclear power plants
[00:08:46] and other options, then I believe renewables will
[00:08:50] ultimately have an enormous cost advantage over other
[00:08:53] concepts.
[00:08:56] Finland though, has chosen the path of nuclear
[00:08:59] power. Here, people are convinced that ultimately
[00:09:03] electricity will be far cheaper with nuclear power than
[00:09:06] without it. The finish operators don't
[00:09:09] understand Germany's nuclear phase out. because big
[00:09:13] country like Germany, very big country, so if
[00:09:17] you want to reach reach 100% renewables
[00:09:20] and electricity systems, we haven't seen
[00:09:24] it yet in a big country, so all the best for the
[00:09:27] for this challenging effort
[00:09:30] that uh that you can hopefully
[00:09:34] do without nuclear b, but our solution
[00:09:37] is is nuclear and renewables
[00:09:40] together, defens have also found
[00:09:43] solution for the nuclear waste.
[00:09:46] Geologist Johanna Savunan is on our way to the
[00:09:49] construction site near the power plants. At more
[00:09:52] than 450 meters below ground, the world's
[00:09:56] first permanent repository for high-level radioactive
[00:09:59] waste is taking
[00:10:00] shape.
[00:10:04] Underground tunnels will soon store spent fuel rods for thousands of
[00:10:07] years. The nuclear waste bunker has attracted
[00:10:11] worldwide attention.
[00:10:14] I feel proud, I
[00:10:18] a difficult matter and not just waiting for some
[00:10:22] others to show the way. feel that this
[00:10:25] is issue that needs to be solved and i'm i feel proud
[00:10:29] that Finland is doing exactly that.
[00:10:32] 300 meters long and carved into granite bedrock,
[00:10:36] the tunnels will one day store highly radioactive nuclear
[00:10:39] waste. an elevator will bring the copper canisters
[00:10:43] filled with spent fuel elements down into the
[00:10:46] repository. each canister will be placed in a
[00:10:50] hole. the holes and the tunnel will be plugged with
[00:10:53] bentonite and the tunnel. Finally will be sealed with
[00:10:56] concrete. the onkalo repository will go
[00:11:00] online in 2026. the
[00:11:02] waste will remain here for over 100 thousand years until
[00:11:06] it is only minimally radioactive.
[00:11:09] radioactive waste is quite a
[00:11:13] difficult subject and people don't know lot about
[00:11:16] it, so people tend to be afraid of something they don't know
[00:11:20] about.
[00:11:22] many fins place great trust in the work. their
[00:11:25] scientists, they believe that nuclear power is
[00:11:29] the best choice, and that mix of wind power and
[00:11:32] nuclear energy will secure an emissions free
[00:11:35] future.
[00:11:40] Finland, Finland places great value on energy
[00:11:43] independence, and over the past decades that's worked quite well
[00:11:47] thanks to their use of nuclear power, so you could
[00:11:50] say their decisions make sense for them, but you also need to keep in mind that other.
[00:13:00] By 2030, Germany aims to generate 80%
[00:13:03] of its electricity from renewables like wind and solar
[00:13:07] power. A key part of this green energy
[00:13:11] transition is battery storage. It
[00:13:14] stores excess energy for later use when demand is high.
[00:13:18] That helps stabilize the power grid and prevent
[00:13:21] overloads.
[00:13:55] for major German energy company, soon he
[00:13:58] won't just be selling electricity from gas and hard cold power
[00:14:01] plants, he'll also be buying and storing
[00:14:04] it.
[00:14:07] By Spring 2026, new battery system will be running
[00:14:10] here. It can deliver 50 megaws of
[00:14:13] electricity about the output of a small gas
[00:14:17] plant for 4
[00:14:18] hours.
[00:14:21] Because it's plugged straight into the grid, the battery can store.
[00:14:25] surplus renewable power and release it when demand
[00:14:28] rises, turning those swings into
[00:14:30] profit.
[00:14:34] ultimately we're taking a business risk, but we believe
[00:14:37] flexibility is key for the energy
[00:14:39] transition.
[00:14:42] right now it feels like a gold rush. prices on the power
[00:14:46] exchange fluctuate daily as seen from a July weekly
[00:14:49] chart. during the day, solar floods the grid
[00:14:53] and prices drop. In the evening and early morning,
[00:14:57] fossil plants ramp up and prices rise. Battery
[00:15:01] storage systems profit from those
[00:15:03] swings. Think of it like squirrels gathering
[00:15:06] nuts. We trade every 15 minutes, often the same
[00:15:10] energy again and again. Sometimes it's
[00:15:13] just tiny price differences, but over time you scoop up the
[00:15:16] returns. This business model has been tested for about
[00:15:20] 10 years with a 15 megaw hour pilot
[00:15:23] system. German. Brid operators have received speculative
[00:15:26] requests for battery projects totaling 500
[00:15:29] gigawatts, far above the country's peak demand.
[00:15:33] If all were built, their combined capacity could, for few hours...
[00:15:43] match the output of roughly 500 nuclear power plants. with growing flexibility, more storage systems and more
[00:15:46] colocations, meaning more pairing of renewable plants with on-sight battery
[00:15:50] storage, the price gaps will gradually disappear,
[00:15:53] langsam abschmelzen.
[00:15:57] on April 28th, 2025, Spain and
[00:16:00] Portugal were hit by a massive blackout. Volters
[00:16:04] spiked beyond safe limits, shutting down over 20.
[00:18:07] supply, the big question is, can batteries deliver
[00:18:11] during the dark duldrums, those long stretches with little sun or
[00:18:15] wind?
[00:18:18] battery storage is being put to the test here, what role
[00:18:22] will they play in tomorrow's energy system? with mega
[00:18:25] batteries on the rise, do we even need new backup gas
[00:18:29] plants at
[00:18:29] all?
[00:18:35] is a researcher technical university.
[00:19:08] up to November 1st, wind was strong, but in the following days
[00:19:11] it dropped.
[00:19:14] The week winter sun didn't add much,
[00:19:18] gas plants stepped in with up to 15 gigawatts
[00:19:22] and coal also ramped up to about 20 gig
[00:19:25] watts.
[00:19:29] Two weeks later, the wind
[00:19:31] returned.
[00:19:33] Fossil plants scaled back and the dark Doldrums were...
[00:20:43] Batteries have the edge for short-term energy
[00:20:46] storage. By contrast, hydrogen
[00:20:50] can hold huge amounts of energy for months, but
[00:20:54] producing hydrogen takes a lot of energy,
[00:20:57] ideally from renewable sources, that's what makes
[00:21:01] it green hydrogen, and it's being produced in places
[00:21:05] you might not
[00:21:06] expect.
[00:21:10] the fuffenhofen waste water plant does more than treats
[00:21:13] sewage, it's also hosting an experiment.
[00:21:17] Andreas hashman and
[00:22:51] It's still a pilot program, but one day it could
[00:22:54] supply the region for five days when renewables fall
[00:22:58] short. Green transition expert Florian
[00:23:01] Egley likes the idea, but says that even at scale it won't
[00:23:05] produce enough hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industry like
[00:23:09] steel production. That's why government and industry are looking to
[00:23:12] hydrogen from Africa, but Eggly warns against putting too
[00:23:16] much faith in the
[00:23:19] plan. We analyze what it costs to produce green hydrogen in
[00:23:23] Africa for export to Europe. We found it far more
[00:23:26] expensive than expected, mainly because financing costs are
[00:23:30] higher than expected. Investment risks in many African
[00:23:34] countries are greater than for example in
[00:23:36] Europe. Across 10,300
[00:23:40] sites in 31 African countries, hydrogen
[00:23:43] production plants for Europe are in
[00:23:45] planning.
[00:23:48] Eg and his team studied them and say only about two.
[00:24:20] Eggly studies says investment costs are the main reason prices
[00:24:24] will sore. Interest rates are now much higher than the
[00:24:27] expected 4 to8%. In Sudan, rates are over
[00:24:31] 26%. These unexpectedly high
[00:24:35] costs for green hydrogen from Africa could slow Europe's
[00:24:38] shift to clean energy in heavy industry. And that
[00:24:42] means sustainability targets won't be met,
[00:24:46] and that would also hurt Africa.
[00:25:20] Europe:
[00:30:19] Good day, dear viewers, you are watching N1
[00:30:21] Info.
[00:30:25] The fire on Čvrsnica is still active, Croatia approved the use of two
[00:30:29] Canadair planes.
[00:30:32] Miners of the Kakanj brown coal mine in labor disobedience after the repeated
[00:30:36] suspension of health insurance card
[00:30:37] certification.
[00:30:40] Trump threatens the European Union over plans for Canada to become an associate
[00:30:44] member. The Canadian Prime Minister addressed the European
[00:30:46] Parliament.
[00:30:51] The fire that has been active for several days in the area of Blidinje Nature Park
[00:30:55] flared up again and affected part of the forest. The spread of the fire was aided by strong
[00:30:58] wind and long.