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President
Alvarado taking a look at the
high-temperature plasma in a
unique device, the so-called
Stellarator.
/ TEC
courtesy photo
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Costa
Rican public university opens the
first nuclear
fusion research laboratory in
Central America
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
President Carlos Alvarado,
professors and students of the Technological
University of Costa Rica*
opened Friday the first plasma
laboratory for fusion energy and
its applications in Central
America.
The Costa Rica Institute of
Technology, known as TEC, is a
top public university, created
in 1971, specializing in
engineering and science.
With an investment of about
$445,926, the plasma laboratory
was built in the central campus
of the TEC University in Cartago*.
The two levels of the laboratory
are being built in stages. The
first one was inaugurated this
Friday, with a construction area
of 285 square meters.
According to the university,
plasma has more than 42
applications. Students will
investigate plasma for fusion
energy to produce electric power
and other applications,
specifically, in medicine,
industry, and agriculture.
On the challenges that the
country has, in the matter of
alternative energy development,
Alvarado said, "we live in a
time that is having deep and
accelerated technological
transformations. Explorations
such as those carried out by
these young people put us at the
forefront of climate change." He
said this while mentioning an
example of the uses of this
energy as producing electricity
or using ecological alternatives
to replace agrochemicals.
According to the government,
with this laboratory, the
country is placed at the level
of Brazil and Chile, the only
Latin countries to have a
laboratory to conduct research
of this type.
"Nuclear fusion gives us the
enormous opportunity to obtain
large amounts of clean energy,
respecting the environment and
with greater security than
fossil fuels," said Ivan Vargas,
coordinator of the laboratory.
"In addition, studies indicate
that it is the best option known
to supply the future energy
demand of humanity. "
Currently, the government is in
the process of being accredited
as the first center for the
development of this energy
before the International Atomic
Energy Agency with which it will
become the center of reference
for the Latin American and
Caribbean region.
The International Atomic Energy
Agency is an international
organization that seeks to
promote the peaceful use of
nuclear energy and to inhibit
its use for any military
purpose, including nuclear
weapons. The organization was
established as an autonomous
organization in 1957 and reports
to both the United Nations
General Assembly and Security
Council.
The first plasma discharge was
made at TEC in 2016. That
experiment made Costa Rica the
first Latin American country to
make a discharge of
high-temperature plasma in a
unique device, the so-called
Stellarator of Costa Rica
1, with the main goal of
converting the plasma into an
alternative source of energy.
Only eight countries carry out
research on a Stellarator device
to produce electricity, They are
the United States, China, Japan,
Russia, Germany, Spain, Ukraine,
and Costa Rica.
In addition, the laboratory also
has a spherical Tokamak, another
fusion power device. This makes
Costa Rica as the level of the
United States, and Japan, as the
only countries with two
high-tech devices to investigate
fusion energy. Fusion is the
type of energy produced by the
sun.
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Should the
government continue investing
in the plasma lab, or should
it prioritize other needs that
Costa Ricans may have?
We would like to know your
thoughts on this story.
Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com
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