Energy security

Lockheed Martin One Step Closer To Portable Nuclear Generator

Lockheed Martin, the world’s biggest defense contractor, has been aiming for some time now to use nuclear fusion to create cheap electrical power that uses water for fuel, produces byproducts that are totally safe and releases no air pollution. The team of engineers and scientists at Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, also called SKUNK Works, are working on the company’s compact fusion project. This investment has recently entered a more advanced stage, according to the General Manager of the company’s SKUNKWorks division, Rob Weiss.

According to Defense News, Weiss told an audience at the Atlantic Council that Lockheed is “about four months into a little bit more significant investment” into the technology, which was first revealed around two years ago, although a small team had been secretly working on fusion energy for about four years before the announcement.

At the time of the initial announcement, Lockheed said it was aiming for a 100 megawatt device which could fit on the back of a large truck. Such a reactor, the company claims, could power a city of up to 100,000 people.