Industries which would be most likely to profit from fusion?
Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 2:32 pm
I want to start this by saying that, obviously, it's a bit early to do any kind of 'investing' in Polywell - we don't even know that it works yet! But, I've also been thinking lately, that some day in maybe 2 or 5 years, we *might* all wake up to have all the news media proclaiming the advent of cheap, clean energy - either from Polywell, or maybe Focus Fusion, or some other approach.
The question then, is what are the most likely investment targets? Obviously, whoever creates/patents the first net-power fusion device would be an early investment target.
I'm thinking I'd be watching for announcements from companies in the following industries:
* High Tech Industrial Manufacturing - whoever 'invents' the first practical fusion reactor isn't likely to be in a position to mass-produce the parts for building them. They would probably partner with some large industrial manufacturer like GE or one of the Japanese or Chinese Manufacturers. Building the reactors would likely be a strong revenue stream for whatever companies get these contracts/licenses.
* Regional Energy Utilities/Generation companies - That's sort of a no-brainer, but this'll come down to execution, so it's not too clear ahead of time which energy companies would be the best to invest in. That'll just require watching the companies closely to see who is executing best.
But, the real interesting question is, what industries might benefit a lot from fusion, but aren't so obvious. . .
* Oil - I wonder, I've heard that there is a lot of oil available in different types of geological deposits, such as the Tar Sands in Canada as one example, but the problem with those oil deposits is that it takes significant amounts of energy to extract that oil. Seems like cheap on-site fusion reactors could suddenly make a LOT of oil become available much cheaper than it is now?
* Large Ships (Commercial Cargo, Passenger/Cruise, etc) - obviously, the Navy has interest in fusion for use aboard ships. If the tech is small enough, simple enough, and safe enough, is there any reason it couldn't be deployed on commercial large ships? If it were, would it have a revolutionary impact (e.g. they could start to make larger, or faster, commercial cargo ships which could deliver more cargo in less time, thus making shipping 'cheaper', and increasing shipping profits?)
* Commercial bulk materials processing (Steel makers, aluminum makers, chemical makers) - Could a large bulk materials processor potentially install fusion reactors on-sight to reduce their energy costs substantially vs. buying from the Grid?
Those are mostly all I've come up with, so far. But, I'm wondering if anyone else can think of any industries which would be, probably, very good targets of early investment for deployment of fusion energy?
The question then, is what are the most likely investment targets? Obviously, whoever creates/patents the first net-power fusion device would be an early investment target.
I'm thinking I'd be watching for announcements from companies in the following industries:
* High Tech Industrial Manufacturing - whoever 'invents' the first practical fusion reactor isn't likely to be in a position to mass-produce the parts for building them. They would probably partner with some large industrial manufacturer like GE or one of the Japanese or Chinese Manufacturers. Building the reactors would likely be a strong revenue stream for whatever companies get these contracts/licenses.
* Regional Energy Utilities/Generation companies - That's sort of a no-brainer, but this'll come down to execution, so it's not too clear ahead of time which energy companies would be the best to invest in. That'll just require watching the companies closely to see who is executing best.
But, the real interesting question is, what industries might benefit a lot from fusion, but aren't so obvious. . .
* Oil - I wonder, I've heard that there is a lot of oil available in different types of geological deposits, such as the Tar Sands in Canada as one example, but the problem with those oil deposits is that it takes significant amounts of energy to extract that oil. Seems like cheap on-site fusion reactors could suddenly make a LOT of oil become available much cheaper than it is now?
* Large Ships (Commercial Cargo, Passenger/Cruise, etc) - obviously, the Navy has interest in fusion for use aboard ships. If the tech is small enough, simple enough, and safe enough, is there any reason it couldn't be deployed on commercial large ships? If it were, would it have a revolutionary impact (e.g. they could start to make larger, or faster, commercial cargo ships which could deliver more cargo in less time, thus making shipping 'cheaper', and increasing shipping profits?)
* Commercial bulk materials processing (Steel makers, aluminum makers, chemical makers) - Could a large bulk materials processor potentially install fusion reactors on-sight to reduce their energy costs substantially vs. buying from the Grid?
Those are mostly all I've come up with, so far. But, I'm wondering if anyone else can think of any industries which would be, probably, very good targets of early investment for deployment of fusion energy?