Nuclear Fusion: How it Works and the Potential

Nuclear fusion is a pathway toward clean, virtually limitless energy. Its practical use requires the world’s greatest engineering skills alongside the best mathematicians, physicists, and the most capa- ble technology from the extremes of what is possible on Earth. This literature review evaluates a varied selection of reactor designs, including tokamaks, stellarators, inertial confinement systems, and Helion En- ergy’s hybrid Field Reversed Configuration (FRC). The main focus is directed at recent high-temperature superconductor (HTS) advancements, detailing the micron level layering of rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO/YBCO) thin-film tapes, which are utilized to achieve the magnetic fields required for high-density plasma stabilization in these designs except for inertial confinement. This paper analyzes new methods and technology designed to mitigate helium embrittlement within fusion reactor walls, directly comparing the use of iron silicate (Fe₂SiO₄) atomic sponges against self venting nanocomposite vascular vein-like systems. The path to fusion is not exclusively in tech, engineering and physics. The second half of the fusion industry is the bureaucracy and national interests of many countries across the world, both as a collective group and in nations working internally. The changing US regulatory frame- works introduced by the U.S, specifically the ADVANCE Act of 2024, will be evaluated to see the DOE’s roadmap to US energy dominance, which is synthesized alongside the logistical, chemical, structural and cost considerations of potential alternative fuels, such as the aneutronic Deuterium–Helium-3 as fuel. By examining breakthroughs in physics, materials science, metallurgy, the law, alongside private and public sector designs, this review shows the technical path governing next generation, grid-scale fusion use.