Mast Upgrade: UK experiment could sweep aside fusion hurdle
Initial results from a UK experiment could help clear a hurdle to achieving commercial power based on nuclear fusion, experts say.
The tests were carried out at the Mast (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) Upgrade nuclear fusion experiment at Culham in Oxfordshire. The £55m device began operating in October last year, after a seven-year build.
But the trick is getting more energy out of the reactions than you put in. This goal continues to elude teams of scientists and engineers around the world, who are working to make fusion power a reality.
Existing nuclear energy relies on a process called fission, where a heavy chemical element is split to produce lighter ones. Fusion works by combining two light elements to make a heavier one.
One common fusion approach uses a reactor design called a tokamak, in which powerful magnetic fields are used to control charged gas - or plasma - inside a doughnut-shaped container.
An international fusion megaproject called Iter is currently under construction in southern France. Prof Ian Chapman, chief executive of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), said it would be crucial for demonstrating the feasibility of bringing fusion power to the grid.
