Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

UK scientists set new record for generating energy from nuclear fusion with reaction '10 times hotter than the sun'

UK scientists set new record for generating energy from nuclear fusion with reaction '10 times hotter than the sun'

The Joint European Torus is an experimental fusion machine in Oxford. Professor Ian Chapman said the results of the latest tests are a "landmark". However, commercial viability of the technology is still some years away.

Scientists in the UK have set a new record for generating energy from nuclear fusion, the same process that powers our sun seen as a potential future source of near limitless power.

The Joint European Torus, or JET, an experimental fusion machine near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, generated around 59 megajoules, or 11 Megawatts of energy - enough to power around 10,000 homes - in a five second burst.

The experiment still consumed more energy to create the fusion reaction than the energy released by it, but a sustained fusion event of this kind is a major advance.

"These landmark results have taken us a huge step closer to conquering one of the biggest scientific and engineering challenges of them all," said Professor Ian Chapman, chief executive of the UK Atomic Energy Agency that co-funds and operates JET.

The Joint European Torus uses a hollow doughnut-shaped reactor vessel called a Tokamak to heat its fusion fuel


What is the difference between nuclear fission and fusion?


Unlike nuclear fission, which powers conventional nuclear reactors by splitting radioactive elements to release energy, fusion does the opposite.

It forces two forms of hydrogen to fuse together releasing around four times more energy by weight of fuel than a nuclear fission reactor and four million times more than burning fossil fuels.

But containing the same reactions that power our sun here on Earth is the tricky part.

JET uses a hollow doughnut shaped reactor vessel called a tokamak to heat its fusion fuel - "heavy" hydrogen atoms deuterium and tritium - to 150 million degrees Centigrade.

This forms something called a plasma that's around 10 times hotter than the sun - making the reactor, for the few seconds it is running, the hottest place in our solar system.

Electromagnets surrounding the tokamak prevent this charged soup of ions from touching the sides and the whole reaction stopping.

Holding the plasma in this way allows fusion to occur, releasing energy. The latest results from JET prove that making fusion energy in this way is at least theoretically feasible.

'Landmark' advance in fusion technology


"59 Megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a period of five seconds is a landmark in fusion research," said Professor Ian Fells from the University of Newcastle.

But the possibility of commercial fusion energy is still open to debate.

Since the 1950s there have been many incremental steps forward toward fusion power. But the dream of a commercial nuclear fusion reactor has never even been close to being realised.

Could these results change that?

"They give confidence that the prize of fusion energy is worth pursuing," said Professor Sue Ions, nuclear engineer and fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

In May 20201, the UK Atomic Energy Authority's MAST Upgrade experiment developed an exhaust system that can deal with the immense temperatures


It's a major boost for the €20bn (£16.9bn) International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) which is under construction in the south of France.

The project is a collaboration between the world's major economies to build a scaled-up version of the JET experiment.

It's seen as the full "reactor-scale" demonstration of the technology that engineers would require to learn how to build a commercial reactor.

Doubts of fusion's commercial viability


But ITER is not the only game in town. Last year the US National Ignition Facility (NIF), at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California succeeded in creating fusion by a different method of compressing a plasma using immensely powerful lasers.

And in the decades since large government-backed projects like JET, NIF and ITER were conceived small, private fusion ventures have been springing up.

Super-rich investors like Jeff Bezos and venture capitalists keen to back the next revolution in low-carbon energy have led to a profusion of small fusion projects, some using laser-based methods, others using miniaturised versions of the JET and ITER machines.

But few have achieved fusion, let alone "break even" the point where more energy comes out of the reactor than has to go in to get fusion started.

Few think fusion could arrive before 2050 - time to address the climate crisis. Some doubt it will ever happen.

The Tokamak reactor design was first proposed by Russian scientists in 1950. The joke in nuclear fusion circles is that a working reactor has been 20 years away ever since then.

But today's advance might mean fusion scientists have the last laugh.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×