In a significant advancement in the pursuit of fusion energy, the world’s most powerful fusion machine has been inaugurated in the eastern Japanese city of Naka. The device, known as a tokamak, is housed in a six-storey-high tower and is designed to contain swirling superheated gases at temperatures exceeding 200 million degrees Celsius, surpassing the heat of the sun’s core by more than tenfold.
The tokamak, named JT-60SA, marks a major milestone in the longstanding global effort to realize fusion energy, with the European Union and Japan playing key roles in its development. Established as a result of a 2007 EU-Japan agreement to advance fusion energy, JT-60SA is now the most potent tokamak globally, having been unveiled in December 2023 following nearly ten years of construction.
Professor Ambrogio Fasoli, a leading physics expert from Italy overseeing a consortium funded by the EU to promote fusion energy, emphasized the significance of JT-60SA’s operational commencement, highlighting it as a crucial achievement in the journey towards commercial fusion energy. The partnership EUROfusion, comprising approximately 170 laboratories and industry collaborators from 29 nations, is actively involved in contributing resources and expertise to JT-60SA.
Fusion-energy reactors like JT-60SA mimic the natural processes occurring in stars, such as the sun, by combining hydrogen atoms to yield helium and releasing energy in the form of heat. This approach holds the promise of delivering a sustainable, clean, and virtually limitless energy source, distinct from the fission process utilized in conventional nuclear power plants.
Unlike fission, which involves splitting a heavy atom into lighter ones, fusion involves the fusion of two light atoms to create a larger one. This process, devoid of long-lived nuclear waste and the risks associated with meltdowns or chain reactions, underscores the potential of fusion energy as a safe and environmentally friendly power solution.
Research into fusion energy dates back to the 1920s, with British astrophysicist Arthur Eddington drawing connections between stellar energy and hydrogen fusion. Today, as the global focus on combating climate change intensifies and the search for sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels gains momentum, fusion energy emerges as a promising avenue for meeting energy needs while mitigating environmental impact.
