February 9, 2022

expert reaction to 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy, as announced by UKAEA

The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has announced landmark results from EUROfusion scientists and engineers at UKAEA’s Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Oxford.

Dr Robert Sansom, a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Energy Policy Panel, said:

“It’s an important step but the energy output specified is confusing. The 59 MJ is described as sustained but it was over 5 seconds with an average output of 11MW.  If this energy could be captured and used to power a steam turbine, then the power station output would be about 4MW, which is not much.

“I would describe it as a proof of concept, but there is a lot further to go. The next stage would be to demonstrate that the energy can be captured and used to drive a generator. From this we would be able to assess its potential for a reliable source of baseload power and its associated costs and other factors, including environmental impact. It’s a step forward but there are many more steps to overcome before this technology can be commercialised in time to have much impact on net zero. The best we can hope for is that this technology offers a viable low carbon energy source for the second half of this century and an alternative to nuclear fission.”

Dr Amy Gandy, Senior Lecturer in Nuclear Materials Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said:

“These results really do represent exciting and meaningful strides forward in adopting fusion as a source of power. JET is the only fusion experiment in the world that uses the same fuel (deuterium and tritium) that will be used in future fusion power plants and so these new experiments have allowed researchers to test, for the first time, key components in real-life conditions – such as how the plasma and the materials that are nearest to the plasma (the materials that make up the core of the fusion device) interact. 

“JET has been upgraded over the years to mimic many of the systems that will be used in ITER. These results therefore give confidence that ITER will achieve the promise of producing a self-sustained plasma capable of producing more energy that is put in.” 

Mr Tony Roulstone, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, said:

“This is pretty important.  JET held the fusion duration and temperature records for many years but has been closed down for upgrades. Tokomaks in China and Korea have pushed ahead with fusion temperature and durations but these have not been D-T reactions. They have been long duration plasmas to demonstrate fusion conditions without the fuel. JET is in its last campaign – it will be the last because it will be radioactive at the end from the high energy fusion neutrons. In this campaign JET is seeking to get the best demonstration that ITER will work and the best information to support the design of ITER experiments.

“Often fusion over-calls advances in its experiments – not in this case.”

Prof Sue Ion FRS FREng, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said:

“The latest results from JET at Culham demonstrate how much progress has been made. They give confidence that the prize of Fusion Energy is worth pursuing. They also demonstrate the vital and important role played by the UK and JET in the international endeavours to bring fusion energy to commercial reality.  Efforts must now concentrate on the very significant engineering and materials challenges which are still to be overcome before fusion can be considered a realistic and reliable energy source.”

Prof Robin Grimes FRS FREng, Steele Professor of Energy Material at Imperial College London, said:

“This is further confirmation that the practical physics of fusion can deliver the energy levels we need to decarbonise our energy needs, not only for electricity but also heat.  While there are many engineering challenges to overcome, this provides decision makers with the evidence and thus the confidence needed to keep up the momentum. 

“I hope the UK funding agencies act to ensure that the UK stays at the forefront of this technology as it develops.  Of course, the other thing this project has shown is that effective international partnerships are key to success.”

Prof Ian Fells FREng, Emeritus Professor of Energy Conversion at the University of Newcastle, said:

“The production of 59 Megajoules of heat energy from fusion over a period of 5 seconds is a landmark in fusion research. Now it is up to the engineers to translate this into carbon-free electricity and mitigate the problem of climate change.

“Fusion was initiated with the explosion of the hydrogen bomb in 1952, its potential was realised but it has taken until now to achieve 5 seconds of fusion, a formidable success. 10-20 years could see commercialisation.”

Dr Mark Wenman, Reader in Nuclear Materials at Imperial College London, said:

“These exciting new results from JET clearly show that it can be achieved in a tokamak similar to the new, larger, more powerful, ITER device. For me, this means we can expect big things from ITER and that fusion energy really is no longer just a dream of the far future – the engineering to make it a useful, clean power source is achievable and happening now.”

Declared interests

Prof Ian Fells: “I am Technical Director of Penultimate Power UK Ltd a fission company making High Temperature gas cooled reactors. Nothing to do with fusion.”

Prof Robin Grimes: “nothing to declare.”

Dr Mark Wenman: “I have a PhD project partly sponsored by UKAEA but no personal interests.”

Prof Sue Ion: “None to declare.”

None others received.