The project did release more fusion energy than its lasers used to create the reaction, but charging those lasers incurred an energy cost. This current strips electrons off the gas particles, which collide with other particles to kick off more electrons. Different reactor shapes and sizes result in different plasma trajectories and have different pros and cons. They are more compact, can more efficiently confine plasma particles, and can be more economical to build. “I’m confident that we need fusion,” PPPL’s Berzak Hopkins says, “so that makes me very confident that we will solve fusion.”