Weekly Update: Project Clean Up Newsletter - Vol. 1, Issue 62

Date: August 28, 2026

The Invisible Shield: Borated Glass and the Fusion Dilemma

Welcome back to the Project Clean Up (PCU) weekly newsletter! Last week, we launched our new Advanced Materials series by mapping how AI and Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are extracting rare earth elements from industrial slag.

Today, we take those elements and put them to the ultimate test.

The defining energy breakthrough of our generation is nuclear fusion—creating a "star in a jar" to generate limitless, clean electricity. But containing a 100-million-degree plasma cloud is only half the battle. The fusion reaction releases a chaotic storm of high-energy neutrons. When these neutrons hit standard metals, they slowly destroy the atomic lattice, rendering the reactor brittle and dangerously radioactive.

To safely observe, maintain, and shield these reactors, we need a material that can catch neutrons without breaking down or becoming radioactive itself. This week, we explore Borated Glass, and how we are ensuring that the dawn of fusion energy doesn't create a new era of radioactive waste.