N1HRV — broadcast
20260917 193000 UTC
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[00:00:06] more air conditioners, more data centers, more electric
[00:00:09] cars, around the world, we're using more and more
[00:00:12] electricity,
[00:00:15] but there's good news, wind and solar power are stepping up to
[00:00:18] 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.
[00:00:36] Join us for electrifying insights on this edition of
[00:00:40] DW Science Show. Welcome to Tomorrow
[00:00:43] Today.
[00:00:45] What does a donut have to do with the sun? What does a blow
[00:00:49] pipe have to do with a furnace, and what happened
[00:00:52] on May 22nd, 2025.
[00:00:55] A really exciting day here at the Institute. It
[00:00:58] was top notch. but first things
[00:01:02] first, let's start with our everburning star and a
[00:01:05] question: can the sun's fusion process be replicated
[00:01:09] to produce energy here on earth? scientists have
[00:01:13] been trying and failing to achieve this for
[00:01:16] decades. we still don't have commercial fusion
[00:01:20] reactors, but we do have research facilities,
[00:01:23] like Wendelstein 7x in northeast Germany. it
[00:01:27] was purpose built to develop accelerator.
[00:01:32] lot today, they are not afraid of
[00:02:01] The machine is called W7X.
[00:02:04] 450 people work here, including plasma physicists,
[00:02:07] engineers and technicians.
[00:02:11] At W7X, we mainly produce hydrogen
[00:02:14] plasmas. We feed in hydrogen gas, which
[00:02:18] is ionized by heater and turned into a
[00:02:20] plasma.
[00:02:24] Here's how it works: inside the machine is vacuum
[00:02:27] chamber shaped like twisted donut.
[00:02:32] Normally a tiny amount of hydrogen enters as a gas through
[00:02:35] a valve and is heated to extreme
[00:02:37] 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 stated
[00:02:54] those temperatures for a record breaking 43
[00:02:56] seconds.
[00:05:02] For now, the accelerator is undergoing maintenance with number of
[00:05:06] upgrades scheduled over the next few months,
[00:05:10] then W7X will be back. and chasing new
[00:05:13] records.
[00:05:18] Did you know that nuclear fishion, the process behind nuclear power
[00:05:22] today is considered more dangerous than nuclear
[00:05:25] fusion. Fishing accidents can release massive
[00:05:29] amounts of radioactive material as happened in
[00:05:32] Fukushima and Chernoble. Fusion
[00:05:35] is safer and doesn't produce high-level radioactive
[00:05:38] waste that must be stored safely for millennia,
[00:05:41] yet Finland. is betting a future powered by nuclear
[00:05:45] fishion.
[00:05:49] the oil keluarto 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
[00:06:02] 2023. the turbine hall is where the massive generators
[00:06:06] are located. they're driven by heat from the reactor, which is
[00:06:10] how the electricity is produced.
[00:06:15] Alkilot 3 has capacity of 1600 megw,
[00:06:19] making it one of the largest nuclear reactors in the EU.
[00:06:22] The facility covers about 14% of Finland's electricity
[00:06:26] production. The company's press officer says
[00:06:30] public concerns were minimal. We have been
[00:06:32] measuring for 40 years this, what people
[00:06:36] fear and what what how do they like nuclear power?
[00:06:38] And they they like nuclear.
[00:06:44] the waste, it's not a major concern anymore,
[00:06:48] we have solution here in alkiloto, 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
[00:07:05] years. the project was plagued with delays including loose
[00:07:09] parts in the turbine and issues with the instrument. and control
[00:07:13] 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,
[00:07:31] 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] not the... signed in detail level, so
[00:07:44] 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
[00:07:54] 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
[00:08:04] reactor Finland's largest climate
[00:08:07] project.
[00:08:10] 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
[00:08:19] Poland is preparing to build its first commercial nuclear power
[00:08:23] plant.
[00:08:26] The question is, what is ultimately the better
[00:08:28] 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 timelines they
[00:08:37] involve, and if you also look at the economic costs of
[00:08:41] renewables today. "and compare that to investments
[00:08:44] in new nuclear power plants and other options,
[00:08:48] then I believe renewables will ultimately have an enormous cost
[00:08:51] advantage over other
[00:08:52] concepts."
[00:08:56] Finland, though, has chosen the path of nuclear
[00:08:59] power. Here, people are convinced that ultimately
[00:09:02] electricity will be far cheaper with nuclear power than
[00:09:06] without it. The Finnish operators don't
[00:09:09] understand Germany's nuclear phaseout. because big
[00:09:13] country like Germany, very big country, so if
[00:09:16] you want to reach reach 100% renewables
[00:09:20] en electricity systems, we haven't seen
[00:09:23] it yet in a big country, so all the best for the
[00:09:27] for this challenging effort
[00:09:30] that that you can hopefully
[00:09:34] do without nuclear b, but our solution
[00:09:37] is is nuclear and renewables
[00:09:39] together, the finns have als found solution
[00:09:43] for the nuclear waste. Geologist Johanna
[00:09:47] Savunan is on our way to the construction site near the power
[00:09:50] plants. At more than 450 meters
[00:09:54] below ground, the world's first permanent repository for
[00:09:57] high-level radioactive waste is taking
[00:10:00] shape.
[00:10:03] Underground tunnels will soon store spent fuel rods for thousands of
[00:10:07] years. The nuclear waste bunker has attracted
[00:10:10] worldwide attention.
[00:10:14] I feel proud, I feel proud that we are taking action in a
[00:10:18] difficult manner and not just waiting for some
[00:10:21] others to show the way, I feel that... This
[00:10:25] is an 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,
[00:10:35] 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
[00:10:49] hole. The holes and the tunnel would be plugged with
[00:10:52] bentanite and the tunnel.
[00:12:02] Finland believes that its repository will be a permanent
[00:12:05] solution to the nuclear waste problem. Germany, by
[00:12:09] contrast, still doesn't have a long-term storage
[00:12:11] plan.
[00:12:14] When Germany decided to phase out nuclear power in
[00:12:16] 2011, it was agreed that we would search for the best possible
[00:12:20] repository site a white map, based solely on
[00:12:24] scientific.
[00:12:59] 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
[00:13:10] transition is battery storage. It
[00:13:13] stores excess energy for later use when demand is high.
[00:13:17] That helps stabilize the power grid and prevent
[00:13:20] overloads.
[00:13:55] german energy company, soon he won't just be selling
[00:13:59] electricity from gas and hard cold power plants, he'll also be
[00:14:02] buying and storing it.
[00:14:06] by spring 2026, new battery system will be
[00:14:10] running here. it can deliver 50 megaws of
[00:14:13] electricity about the output of a small gas
[00:14:16] plant for 4
[00:14:18] hours.
[00:14:21] because it's plugged straight into the grid, the battery can
[00:14:24] store. renewable power and release it when demand
[00:14:27] rises, turning those swings into
[00:14:30] profit.
[00:14:34] Ultimately we're taking a business risk, but we believe
[00:14:36] flexibility is key for the energy
[00:14:38] transition.
[00:14:41] Right now it feels like a gold rush, prices on the power
[00:14:45] exchange fluctuate daily, as seen from a
[00:14:48] July weekly chart. During the
[00:14:51] day, solar floods the grid and prices drop.
[00:14:55] In the evening and early morning, fossil plants ramp up and
[00:14:59] prices rise. Battery storage systems profit from those
[00:15:02] 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
[00:15:12] 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 megwatt pilot
[00:15:23] system. German grid.
[00:16:07] of plants, including four nuclear reactors, the
[00:16:11] grid's heartbeat its frequency, became
[00:16:14] unstable, could battery storage systems have prevented
[00:16:17] it?
[00:16:20] we've observed the same thing that happened in Spain and Portugal here in our control
[00:16:24] room.
[00:16:27] Hendrick Neumann, CTO at Transmission grid operator
[00:16:31] Ambrion helps keep Germany's grid stable. He
[00:16:35] says a blackout like the one that happened in Spain. Portugal can't happen in
[00:16:38] Germany thanks to backup systems, but if
[00:16:42] batteries are to join that safety net, they must do more than store
[00:16:45] energy, they need to help steady the grid's pulse by
[00:16:49] supplying reactive power on
[00:16:51] demand.
[00:16:54] You can think of reactive power like lubricant and an
[00:16:57] engine. An engine needs oil to run
[00:17:00] smoothly.
[00:17:03] In Spain, power was restored within 12 to 16 hours.
[00:17:08] Investigators say high voltage triggered the blackout, but also
[00:17:11] note that the grid lacked stabilizing reactive power,
[00:17:14] which may have made things worse.
[00:17:17] Technically, batteries can provide reactive power, right
[00:17:21] now there's no real market for it, and it isn't financially viable, so it's not
[00:17:25] our main
[00:17:25] focus.
[00:17:29] Unless we create a system together, with everyone
[00:17:33] in the market, we won't be able to build large scale battery
[00:17:36] storage. Even though it's essential for our future
[00:17:39] grid.
[00:17:42] That's a crucial point. So far, fossil plants have
[00:17:46] supplied reactive power almost automatically. The grid
[00:17:50] operator asks for it, the generators provide it, and
[00:17:53] electricity flows smoothly, but coal
[00:17:56] and lignite are set to be phased out by 2038 at the
[00:17:59] latest. Once they're gone, reactive power won't
[00:18:03] come automatically, so a formal market needs to secure.
[00:18:08] the big question is, can batteries deliver during the dark duldrums,
[00:18:12] those long stretches with little sun or
[00:18:14] wind?
[00:18:17] battery storage is being put to the test here, what role
[00:18:21] 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?
[00:18:34] is a researcher at Achin Technical University. He studies
[00:18:38] how the power grid will need to change with the energy
[00:18:40] transition.
[00:18:43] These battery storage systems will make us much more
[00:18:46] independent. They allow us to turn solar
[00:18:50] power into a plannable energy source for
[00:18:53] 24 or even 48 hours, but not
[00:18:56] longer.
[00:19:00] Last winter, the grid came under pressure. These energy
[00:19:03] charts show which plants supplied power and how
[00:19:06] much. Up to November 1st, wind was strong,
[00:19:10] but in the following days it
[00:19:11] dropped.
[00:19:14] The week winter sun didn't add much,
[00:19:18] gas plants stepped in with up to 15 gigaws and
[00:19:21] coal also ramped up to about 20 gig
[00:19:24] watts.
[00:19:29] Two weeks later, the wind
[00:19:30] returned.
[00:19:33] Fossil plants scaled back and the dark Doldrums were over.
[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
[00:20:53] producing hydrogen takes a lot of energy,
[00:20:57] ideally from renewable sources, that's what makes
[00:21:00] it green hydrogen, and it's being produced in places
[00:21:04] you might not
[00:21:05] expect.
[00:21:10] the fuffen houfen wastewater plant does more than treat
[00:21:13] sewage, it's also hosting an experiment.
[00:21:16] Andreas hashman and holga close lead the project.
[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
[00:22:57] short. Green transition expert Florian
[00:23:01] Agley likes the idea, but says that even at scale it
[00:23:05] won't produce enough hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industry like
[00:23:08] steel production. That's why government and industry are looking to
[00:23:12] hydrogen from Africa, but Egley warns against putting too much
[00:23:16] faith in the plan.
[00:23:20] "We analyze what it costs to produce green hydrogen in Africa for
[00:23:23] export to Europe. We found it far more expensive than
[00:23:27] expected, mainly because financing costs are higher than
[00:23:30] expected. Investment risks in many African countries
[00:23:34] are greater than for example in Europe.
[00:23:37] Across 10,300 sites in 31 African
[00:23:41] countries, hydrogen production plants for Europe are in
[00:23:44] planning.
[00:23:47] Egley and his team studied them and say only about 2%.
[00:24:20] Egley's study says investment costs are the main reason prices will
[00:24:23] 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
[00:24:34] costs for green hydrogen from Africa could slow Europe's
[00:24:38] shift to clean energy in heavy industry.
[00:24:41] And that means sustainability targets won't be
[00:24:45] met, and that would also hurt
[00:24:47] Africa.
[00:25:24] What are stars made of? How many
[00:25:27] colors can butterflies see? Could
[00:25:30] robots have babies one day? Do you
[00:25:33] have science question? Then send it to us as a video,
[00:25:37] text or voice message. If we answer
[00:25:40] it in the show, then we'll send you a little gift as a
[00:25:43] thank you, so just
[00:25:45] ask.
[00:25:50] That's all for now, but we hope you'll join us again next
[00:25:54] time for more exciting stories from the world of science and
[00:25:57] technology here tomorrow
[00:25:59] today.
[00:26:06] I don't think waving flags is my job,
[00:26:09] nor is it to please everyone, my
[00:26:12] job is to convey facts and tell the truth, however
[00:26:16] unpleasant it may sometimes be to hear, because journalism is not PR,
[00:26:20] it's not politicking, it's not a reality show,
[00:26:24] journalism is a public service, because
[00:26:27] to give up asking difficult, uncomfortable questions,
[00:26:30] seeking difficult answers, I know. means giving up
[00:26:34] democracy. In a time of shaken trust in
[00:26:37] institutions and fragile credibility,
[00:26:40] journalism must not be silent. I am Hrvoje Krešić and
[00:26:44] watch me on N1 Television. AI
[00:26:47] changes the rules of the game, or has it already changed them? In AI
[00:26:51] Central Point, we discover innovations that push boundaries,
[00:26:54] from smart algorithms to technologies that are already shaping our
[00:26:58] future today. Who is leading the race, who is lagging? And
[00:27:01] what does that mean? for humanity, don't miss
[00:27:04] AI Central Point, the place where the future begins,
[00:27:08] Thursdays at 8 PM, only on N1
[00:27:11] Television.
[00:30:17] Good afternoon, I am Borna Šmer, and you are watching the daily review. These
[00:30:20] are the news that marked
[00:30:22] Thursday.
[00:30:27] The case of illegal waste in Gospić at two addresses in
[00:30:30] Strasbourg in Zagreb. In the European Parliament, a discussion on
[00:30:34] health protection, in Zagreb, the government's scientific
[00:30:37] council.
[00:30:41] Canada turns to Europe, and Washington threatens, while Carney
[00:30:44] talks about a stronger alliance between Canada and the Union, Trump
[00:30:48] warns, we will introduce high
[00:30:50] tariffs.
[00:30:53] A fire broke out in the KBC, sisters of mercy, some patients
[00:30:56] evacuated, but a quick intervention prevented a larger incident.