To escape the dead-end that fossil fuel dominance has led us to, the world urgently needs hydrogen-boron fusion. We at LPPFusion are confident we can demonstrate the scientific feasibility of pB11 fusion in the immediate future with the help of our investors and supporters. But to develop a working prototype and especially to mass-produce the millions of generators we need for the fusion future requires resources that only governments can provide.
Here in the United States, despite verbal support for fusion energy, neither Democrats nor Republicans have taken any actions towards providing the scale of resources required. This is not surprising, as both parties are dominated by billionaire donors who are heavily invested in either fossil fuels or in the giant financial institutions whose solvency depends on the gusher of petrodollars. Only a political movement independent of the two parties can possibly start to redirect public resources toward a fusion transition.
“Sometimes to get the ball rolling, you have to pitch in yourself” says LPPFusion’s Chief Scientist Eric J. Lerner, who is announcing his candidacy for Congress in NJ’s 7th District. “I’m not running as an individual, but as part of a growing slate of independent candidates pledged to a common platform. A core part of that platform is a government-funded crash program of research, development and mass production to speed a transition to a fusion powered economy.” Other candidates pledged to run on the same six-point platform, including fusion energy, are Lily Benavides, running for the US Senate in NJ, and Barry Bendar, running for Congress in the NJ 4th District. More independent candidates in NJ and across the country are expected to join in.
To get on the ballot, Lerner needs the help of fusion supporters in the NYC-NJ area. “We need to collect 500 signatures from 7th district registered voters by June 1. Just 250 are legally required but possible legal challenges require getting twice that many. We can do that with a couple of dozen volunteers getting 20 signatures apiece”, explain Lerner. We’re inviting anyone who is a US citizen and 18 years old, no matter where you live, to come to Westfield NJ on this Saturday May 23 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM or next Saturday, May 30 at the same time. We’ll follow up the petitioning with lunch at a great restaurant with Lerner and all the volunteers. “If you want to help, get fusion on the ballot,” says Lerner, “contact me at elerner@igc.org and I’ll give you the details of where to meet. Please do it by the Friday before, so we can get the reservations right at the restaurant.”
No LPPFusion money will go to support this campaign, nor will it conflict with our research. “We’re doing petitioning while FF-2B is baking out.”, Lerner explains. “During the summer, we’ll be focusing on the experiment that we expect will get us breakthroughs in boron fusion. Then we’ll be campaigning in September and October while our experiment gets further upgrades. If elected, I’ll start serving in 2027, when we expect the project to be transitioning to the development phase. That’s when the engineers take over and the time I need to devote to the project will be much less. Win or lose, these independent campaigns for a common platform will offer US voters a real alternative to the billionaire-backed parties. We have to start the ball rolling.”
