Researchers from the Berlinguette Group have demonstrated that electrochemically loading a solid metal target with deuterium fuel can boost nuclear fusion rates. Large-scale magnetic confinement fusion—which puts plasmas under extreme temperatures and pressure—is being widely explored as a method for clean energy generation, the researchers took a different approach. They loaded a metal target made of palladium with high concentrations of deuterium fuel—on one side of the target, using a plasma field to load the fuel, and on the other, using an additional electrochemical cell to load the fuel. 
Professor Curtis Berlinguette explains, “The goal is to increase fuel density and the probability of deuterium–deuterium collisions, and as a result, fusion events,”
“Using electrochemistry, we loaded much more deuterium into the metal—like squeezing fuel into a sponge. One volt of electricity achieved what normally requires 800 atmospheres of pressure. While we didn’t achieve net energy gain, the approach boosted fusion rates in a way other researchers can reproduce and build on.”
The electrochemical loading of deuterium into the palladium target increased deuterium–deuterium fusion rates by an average of 15% compared to loading the target palladium using the plasma field alone. While the performance boost is modest, it’s the first demonstration of deuterium–deuterium nuclear fusion using these techniques—plasma immersion ion implantation and electrochemical loading.
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Read the paper in Nature here.
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