With the aim to overcome the problems of climatic changes and rising ocean levels, one option is to produce large-scale sustainable energy by nuclear fusion of hydrogen and other very light nuclei similar to the energy source of the sun. Sixty years of worldwide research for the ignition of the heavy hydrogen isotopes deuterium (D) and tritium (T) have come close to a breakthrough for ignition. The problem with the DT fusion is that generated neutrons are producing radioactive waste. One exception as the ideal clean fusion process – without neutron production – is the fusion of hydrogen (H) with the boron isotope11B11 (B11). In this paper, we have mapped out our research based on recent experiments and simulations for a new energy source. We suggest how HB11 fusion for a reactor can be used instead of the DT option. We have mapped out our HB11 fusion in the following way: (i) The acceleration of a plasma block with a laser beam with the power and time duration of the order of 10 petawatts and one picosecond accordingly. (ii) A plasma confinement by a magnetic field of the order of a few kiloteslas created by a second laser beam with a pulse duration of a few nanoseconds (ns). (iii) The highly increased fusion of HB11 relative to present DT fusion is possible due to the alphas avalanche created in this process. (iv) The conversion of the output charged alpha particles directly to electricity. (v) To prove the above ideas, our simulations show for example that 14 milligram HB11 can produce 300 kWh energy if all achieved results are combined for the design of an absolutely clean power reactor producing low-cost energy.

(2015)) for the combination of the non-thermal block ignition using ultrahigh intensity laser pulses of picoseconds duration. The ultrahigh acceleration above 10 20 cm s −2 for plasma blocks was theoretically and numerically predicted since 1978 (Hora, Physics of Laser Driven Plasmas (Wiley, 1981), pp. 178 and 179) and measured (Sauerbrey, Phys. Plasmas 3, 4712 (1996)) in exact agreement (Hora et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 072701 (2007)) when the dominating force was overcoming thermal processes. This is based on Maxwell's stress tensor by the dielectric properties of plasma leading to the nonlinear (ponderomotive) force f NL resulting in ultra-fast expanding plasma blocks by a dielectric explosion. Combining this with measured ultrahigh magnetic fields and the avalanche process opens an option for an environmentally absolute clean and economic boron fusion power reactor. This is supported also by other experiments with very high HB11 reactions under different conditions (Labaune et al., Nature Commun. 4, 2506).

Compared with the deuterium tritium (DT) fusion, the environmentally clean fusion of protons with 11 B is extremely difficult. When instead of nanosecond laser pulses for thermal-ablating driven ignition, picoseconds pulses are used, a drastic change by nonlinearity results in ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks. This radically changes to economic boron fusion by a measured new avalanche ignition.

Fusion of hydrogen with the boron Isotope 11, HB11 at local thermal equilibrium LTE, is 10 5 times more difficult than fusion of deuterium and tritium, DT. If -in contrastextreme non-equilibrium plasma conditions are used with picoseconds laser pulses of more than 10PW power, the difficulties for fusion of HB11 change to the level of DT. This is based on a non-thermal transfer of laser energy into macroscopic plasma motion by nonlinear (ponderomotive) forces as theoretically predicted and experimentally confirmed as "ultrahigh acceleration". Including elastic nuclear collisions of the alpha particles from HB11 reactions results in an avalanche process such that the energy gains from HB11 fusion is nine orders of magnitudes above the classical values. In contrast to preceding laser fusion with spherical compression of the fuel, the side-on direct drive fusion of cylindrical uncompressed solid boron fuel trapped by magnetic fields above kilotesla, permits a reactor design with only one single laser beam for ignition within a spherical reactor. It appears to be potentially possible with present day technology to build a reactor for environmentally fully clean, low-cost and lasting power generation.

Extreme laser pulses driving non-equilibrium processes in high density plasmas permit an increase of the fusion of hydrogen with the boron isotope 11 by nine orders of magnitude of the energy gains above the classical values. This is the result of initiating the reaction by non-thermal ultrahigh acceleration of plasma blocks by the nonlinear (ponderomotive) force of the laser field in addition to the avalanche reaction that has now been experimentally and theoretically manifested. The design of a very compact fusion power reactor is scheduled to produce then environmentally fully clean and inexhaustive generation of energy at profitably low costs. The reaction within a volume of cubic millimetres during a nanosecond can only be used for controlled power generation.