The JET project in Oxford. The new nuclear fusion record produced enough energy to briefly power 41,000 homes. Photo: UKAEA
The JET project in Oxford. The new nuclear fusion record produced enough energy to briefly power 41,000 homes. Photo: UKAEA
The JET project in Oxford. The new nuclear fusion record produced enough energy to briefly power 41,000 homes. Photo: UKAEA
The JET project in Oxford. The new nuclear fusion record produced enough energy to briefly power 41,000 homes. Photo: UKAEA

Record for generating nuclear fusion energy is smashed in drive for clean power


Paul Carey
  • English
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A 40-year project involving 300 scientists trying to generate high fusion power has ended with a record, consistently producing energy for a five-second blast.

While on the surface that may appear an exceedingly short time, it was enough time to smash the previous record and create 69 megajoules of energy using a mere 0.2mg of fuel.

That is enough to – briefly – power around 41,000 homes. Any longer than that would cause the machine's copper wire magnets to overheat.

The results were announced by the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

The previous record of 59 megajoules was set in 2022 by the same team at the JET project based at Oxford, using one of the world’s largest and most powerful fusion machines.

Nuclear fusion is the same process that the Sun uses to generate heat. Proponents believe it could one day help tackle climate change by providing an abundant, safe and clean source of energy.

It was the final experiment to be conducted at the JET site using a doughnut-shaped machine called a tokamak.

“JET has operated as close to power plant conditions as is possible with today's facilities, and its legacy will be pervasive in all future power plants,” said UKAEA chief executive Ian Chapman.

He said the findings have critical implications not only for ITER – a fusion research mega-project being built in southern France – but also for other global fusion projects, pursuing a future of safe, low-carbon, and sustainable energy.

Scientists celebrate in the JET control room, in Oxford. Photo: UKAEA
Scientists celebrate in the JET control room, in Oxford. Photo: UKAEA

Inside JET's tokamak, 0.1mg each of deuterium and tritium – both isotopes of hydrogen – were heated to temperatures 10 times hotter than the centre of the Sun to create plasma.

This mixture was held in place using magnets as it spun around, fusing and releasing tremendous energy as heat.

Fusion is inherently safe in that it cannot start a runaway process.

Deuterium is freely available in seawater, while tritium can be harvested as a by-product of nuclear fission.

Using equivalent weights, it releases nearly four million times more energy than burning coal, oil or gas, and the only waste product is helium.

Despite the record, JET did not generate more energy than was put into producing it.

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California became the only facility to achieve this feat – the holy grail of nuclear fusion – in late 2022, using a different process involving lasers.

Inside JET's tokamak, 0.1 milligrammes each of deuterium and tritium – both isotopes of hydrogen – were heated to temperatures 10 times hotter than the centre of the Sun to create plasma. Photo: UKAEA
Inside JET's tokamak, 0.1 milligrammes each of deuterium and tritium – both isotopes of hydrogen – were heated to temperatures 10 times hotter than the centre of the Sun to create plasma. Photo: UKAEA

JET conducted its first deuterium-tritium experiments in 1997.

More than 300 scientists and engineers from EUROfusion, a consortium of researchers across Europe, contributed to JET's landmark experiments over 40 years.

ITER will be equipped with superconductor electromagnets which will allow the process to continue for longer, hopefully longer than 300 seconds.

If all goes well at ITER, a prototype fusion power plant could be ready by 2050.

International co-operation on fusion energy has historically been close because, unlike the nuclear fission used in atomic power plants, the technology cannot be weaponised.

The France-based megaproject also involves China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US.

The JET Torus Hall. Photo: UKAEA
The JET Torus Hall. Photo: UKAEA

Prof Ambrogio Fasoli, programme manager at EUROfusion, said the demonstration of operational scenarios for future fusion machines instilled greater confidence in the development of fusion energy.

“Beyond setting a record, we achieved things we’ve never done before and deepened our understanding of fusion physics,” he said.

UK Minister for Nuclear and Networks Andrew Bowie said: “JET’s final fusion experiment is a fitting swansong after all the groundbreaking work that has gone into the project since 1983. We are closer to fusion energy than ever before thanks to the international team of scientists and engineers in Oxfordshire.”

The UK's Fusion Futures government programme has committed £650 million to invest in research and facilities.

JET concluded its scientific operations at the end of December 2023.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

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TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

If you go...

Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press

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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


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A foster couple or family must:

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

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UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

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While you're here
High profile Al Shabab attacks
  • 2010: A restaurant attack in Kampala Uganda kills 74 people watching a Fifa World Cup final football match.
  • 2013: The Westgate shopping mall attack, 62 civilians, five Kenyan soldiers and four gunmen are killed.
  • 2014: A series of bombings and shootings across Kenya sees scores of civilians killed.
  • 2015: Four gunmen attack Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and take over 700 students hostage, killing those who identified as Christian; 148 die and 79 more are injured.
  • 2016: An attack on a Kenyan military base in El Adde Somalia kills 180 soldiers.
  • 2017: A suicide truck bombing outside the Safari Hotel in Mogadishu kills 587 people and destroys several city blocks, making it the deadliest attack by the group and the worst in Somalia’s history.
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Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

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Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment

Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman

Rating 3 /stars

Updated: March 05, 2024, 11:37 AM`