Fusion Holds Near a Third of the Grid as a New Reactor Steadies the Load

GENEVA — The reconnected grid drew close to 31 percent of its power from fusion this week, holding the ground it took when Aurora Fusion Works synced its newest baseload reactor back in early August, the company reports. The gain sounds modest until you stand in the control room at the Alpine Geneva Polytechnic annex, where engineer Tomas Rell watches a load curve that used to spike and now merely breathes. "We are not chasing a record," Rell said. "We are chasing a flat line — a grid that does not flinch when a city turns on at dusk." Aurora chief executive Emeka Okonkwo has cautioned that the reconnected grid still leans on legacy sources at peak. Roughly a third of the world's electricity now comes from fusion, up from a quarter three years ago; the rest is the hard part. In Geneva the curve stays level through the evening surge, and Rell allows himself a nod.