New world record for nuclear fusion
The UK-based JET laboratory has achieved a new world record for nuclear fusion. The experiment produced 69 megajoules of energy over five seconds, surpassing the previous record of 16 megajoules.
Nuclear fusion as a clean energy source
Nuclear fusion is the process that powers stars, and it could potentially provide limitless, clean energy without carbon emissions or weather dependence. However, it requires extremely high temperatures and stability to work on Earth.
The JET facility uses a doughnut-shaped device called a tokamak, which creates a plasma of superheated hydrogen gas. By applying strong magnetic fields, the plasma is compressed and heated until the hydrogen atoms fuse together, releasing energy.
JET’s final experiment after 40 years
The JET facility, funded by the EU nuclear research programme Euratom and operated by the UK Atomic Energy Agency, has been conducting fusion research since 1983. Its final experiment was a “fitting swansong” and a demonstration of international collaboration, according to scientists and officials.
The experiment involved 34 countries and hundreds of researchers, who remotely controlled the JET device from their home institutions. The experiment also tested some of the components and technologies that will be used in the successor to JET, a facility called ITER.
The future of fusion research
ITER, based in France, is expected to start full-scale experiments in 2035. It aims to produce 500 megajoules of energy over 20 minutes, demonstrating the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale power source.
The UK government has decided not to re-join Euratom after Brexit. Instead they plan to build its own fusion power plant in Nottinghamshire by the 2040s. The project, called STEP, will use a spherical tokamak design, which is more compact and efficient than the conventional shape.
The UK hopes to become the first country to generate electricity from fusion, and to share its expertise and technology with the rest of the world.