European scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the pursuit of nuclear fusion, mimicking the process that powers the stars to produce low-carbon green energy.   

The U.K.-based Joint European Torus (JET) laboratory has set a new world record for energy extracted from the fusion process of squeezing two isotopes of hydrogen together.   

Experiments at Oxford produced 59 megajoules of energy over five seconds, averaging 11 megawatts of energy per second and reaching temperatures ten times hotter than the center of the sun. These levels doubled the previous best achieved by JET back in 1997.   

Fusion energy is seen as crucial in the battle against climate change. It can provide a low-carbon energy source much more efficiently than current nuclear reactors, which split atoms to produce energy in a process called nuclear fission. 

Why Is Fusion Energy So Important to Climate Change? 

The sun in our solar system is powered by nuclear fusion. Replicating that process on Earth promises an almost limitless supply of green electricity. Fusion requires minimal and easily sourced fuels that are available worldwide.   

Fusion occurs when an isotope of hydrogen is heated to a high temperature. Its atoms fuse to form helium, a reaction that releases an enormous amount of heat energy. We can use this heat to create steam to drive electricity turbines.   

There’s no carbon dioxide or radioactive waste produced by the reaction to contend with, either. Scientists say fusion cannot start a runaway reaction process. That means there’s no chance of meltdowns like those at the Chernobyl and Fukushima power plants, making nuclear fusion a very safe way to produce energy.  

There are now at least 35 nuclear fusion companies globally, with more than $4 billion pledged in funding. Most projects focus on electricity generation from nuclear fusion.  

How Did the JET Project Achieve Nuclear Fusion? 

The sun’s core is under immense gravitational pressure, and nuclear fusion happens at around 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (10 million Celsius). Earth has lower gravitational forces, meaning nuclear fusion occurs at higher temperatures — above 180 million degrees Fahrenheit (100 million Celsius).   

Nothing on Earth can survive contact with such extreme temperatures. The JET site at Culham, Oxfordshire, used a superheated gas, or plasma, to hold the fusion process inside a doughnut-shaped magnetic field. The experiment stalled after five seconds because components got too hot.  

JET’s results have heartened scientists at the ITER facility in France. ITER is a fusion research mega-project whose members count China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the U.S.A.   

The ITER lab had asked JET to trial the plasma, a mix of hydrogen isotopes called deuterium and tritium. ITER hopes to run the fusion reaction for longer thanks to its internal, cooled, superconducting magnets. 

Are There Other Ways to Achieve Nuclear Fusion? 

Scaling-up should allow nuclear fusion to create more energy than it currently requires to produce. In August 2021, the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California almost achieved that holy grail of what is known as fusion ignition.  

Researchers focused a pulse of light into tiny spots within a vacuum chamber. This action caused fuel cells to collapse. The implosion brought about the extreme pressure and temperatures that hydrogen atoms need to combine into new atoms.   

Readings suggested a 70% return on the energy required to perform the experiment. However, kilogram for kilogram, the nuclear energy released was 10 million times more than a power plant would achieve from burning coal. 

Nuclear Fusion and Fission Have a Large Energy Role to Play 

France, the base for future ITER nuclear fusion experiments, has a long history of nuclear innovation. President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to build 14 traditional atomic reactors before 2050 as part of the country’s zero-emission pledge by the same date.   

Nuclear power accounts for around 70% of French electricity production. It’s been an essential part of its energy mix for almost half a century, and supporters say it provides dependable, low-emission electricity. Detractors point to the radioactive waste it produces and the environmental harm around power plants.   

Regardless, the climate change battle against global warming continues. What remains to be seen is if traditional nuclear fission will survive, or whether nuclear fusion will become one of or the only player in future electricity generation. 

Opinion writer: Tom Shearman

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