A recent CBC news story featured the efforts of General Fusion, Inc. In regard to this matter, TRIUMF makes the following statements.
- General Fusion's objective to develop magnetized-target fusion as an energy technology is an example of high-risk (as in, uncertain chance of success), potentially high-reward research and development.
- TRIUMF's core research programs are quite distinct from the technical development and engineering of novel energy production for commercial purposes. The Government of Canada has not formally asked TRIUMF to review or comment on the scientific, technical, or engineering approach of General Fusion. Therefore, TRIUMF is not able to offer an informed view of the project.
- Retired UBC professor and TRIUMF director emeritus Erich Vogt was quoted in the CBC news story as a skeptic of General Fusion's technology. Professor Vogt is an accomplished physicist with a career that spans more than six decades; he served as director of TRIUMF from 1981-1994. His expertise and contributions have been recognized with both the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia. On the topic of General Fusion, Professor Vogt speaks as a respected, well-educated, private citizen and not on behalf of TRIUMF as an institution. He makes this distinction clear on a regular basis when talking about magnetized-target fusion technologies.
- TRIUMF's scientific focus is on advancing isotopes for science and medicine and probing the structure and origins of matter using a series of accelerator facilities. These facilities are carefully designed and regulated to be inherently safe, and they have been operated for over 40 years on the UBC campus in a secure and responsible manner. More than 3,000 members of the public visit TRIUMF each year as part of the tours program. Please see http://www.triumf.ca for details.