Fusion Research Center’s Latest Tritium Experiments Generate New Energy Record

The Joint European Torus (JET), one of the largest and most powerful fusion machines in the world, has demonstrated its ability to reliably generate fusion power, while simultaneously setting a world production record of energy.

These notable achievements represent a milestone in the field of fusion science and engineering.

In JET’s latest deuterium-tritium experiments (DTE3), high fusion power was produced consistently for five seconds, resulting in a groundbreaking record of 69 megajoules using just 0.2 milligrams of fuel.

JET is a tokamak, a design that uses powerful magnetic fields to confine a doughnut-shaped plasma. Most approaches to creating commercial fusion favor the use of two variants of hydrogen: deuterium and tritium. When deuterium and tritium fuse, they produce helium and large amounts of energy, a reaction that will form the basis of future fusion power plants.

Dr Fernanda Rimini, JET’s Senior Director of Operations, said: “We can reliably create fusion plasmas using the same fuel mixture used by commercial fusion energy power plants, demonstrating advanced expertise developed over time. »

Professor Ambrogio Fasoli, Program Director (CEO) at EUROfusion, said: “Our successful demonstration of operational scenarios for future fusion machines like ITER and DEMO, validated by the new energy record, inspires greater confidence in the development fusion energy. new record, we achieved things we had never done before and deepened our understanding of fusion physics.

Dr Emmanuel Joffrin, head of the EUROfusion Tokamak Operations Working Group at CEA, said: “Not only have we demonstrated how to soften the intense heat flowing from the plasma to the exhaust, but we have also shown in JET how we we can bring the edge of the plasma into a stable state thus preventing bursts of energy from reaching the wall. Both techniques aim to protect the integrity of the walls of future machines. This is the first time we can test these scenarios in a deuterium-tritium environment.

More than 300 scientists and engineers from EUROfusion, a consortium of researchers from across Europe, contributed to these landmark experiments at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) site in Oxford, demonstrating the dedication and unprecedented efficiency of the JET international team.

The results consolidate JET’s central role in promoting safe, low-carbon and sustainable fusion energy.

UK Nuclear and Networks Minister Andrew Bowie said: “JET’s latest fusion experiment is a fitting swan song after all the groundbreaking work carried out on the project since 1983. We are closer than ever to fusion energy thanks to Oxfordshire’s international team of scientists and engineers.

“The work doesn’t stop here. Our Fusion Futures program has committed £650 million to invest in research and facilities, cementing the UK’s position as a global fusion hub.”

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

Professor Sir Ian Chapman, CEO of UKAEA, said: “JET has operated as close to power station conditions as possible with current installations, and its legacy will be pervasive in all future power stations. sustainable future.”

The JET research findings have crucial implications not only for ITER, a fusion research megaproject being built in the south of France, but also for the UK’s prototype STEP power station, the European demonstration, DEMO and other global fusion projects, pursuing a future of safe, low-carbon and sustainable energy.

Dr Pietro Barabaschi, Director General of ITER, said: “Throughout its life cycle, JET has been remarkably useful as a precursor to ITER: in the testing of new materials, in the development of new innovative components, and nowhere more so than in the generation of scientific data from Deuterium-Tritium fusion.”

“The results obtained here will have a direct and positive impact on ITER, validating the path forward and allowing us to progress more quickly towards our performance objectives. On a personal note, it was a great privilege for me to have worked at JET myself for a few years. There, I had the opportunity to learn from many exceptional people. »

JET has been instrumental in the advancement of fusion energy for more than four decades, symbolizing international scientific collaboration, engineering excellence and commitment to harnessing the power of fusion energy – the same reactions which power the sun and the stars.

JET demonstrated sustained fusion for five seconds at high power and set a world record in 2021. JET’s first deuterium-tritium experiments took place in 1997.

As it enters the next phase of its repurposing and decommissioning life cycle, a celebration in late February 2024 will honor its founding vision and the spirit of collaboration that led to its success.

JET’s accomplishments, from major scientific milestones to setting energy records, underscore the facility’s lasting legacy in the evolution of fusion technology.

His contributions to fusion science and engineering have played a crucial role in accelerating the development of fusion energy, which promises to become a safe, low-carbon and sustainable part of the supply future global energy.

The potential of fusion energy

Fusion, the process that powers stars like our sun, promises a long-term source of clean heat and electricity, using small amounts of fuel that can be obtained worldwide from cheap materials.

When a mixture of two forms of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) is heated to form a controlled plasma at extreme temperatures (10 times hotter than the core of the sun), they fuse to create helium and release hydrogen. energy that can be harnessed to produce electricity. .

Deuterium and tritium are two heavier variants of regular hydrogen and together provide the highest reactivity of all fusion fuels. At a temperature of 150 million degrees Celsius, deuterium and tritium fuse to form helium and release a huge amount of thermal energy without any contribution to the greenhouse effect. Fusion is inherently safe in that it cannot start an uncontrollable process and produces no long-lived waste.

There are several ways to achieve fusion. Our approach is to keep the plasma hot using powerful magnets in a ring-shaped machine called a “tokamak”, then harness this heat to produce electricity in the same way as existing power plants.

About fusion energy fuel

Most approaches to creating commercial fusion favor the use of two variants of hydrogen: deuterium and tritium. When deuterium and tritium fuse, they produce helium and large amounts of energy, a reaction that will form the basis of future fusion power plants.

Deuterium is abundant and can be extracted from water. Tritium is a radioactive variant of hydrogen with a half-life of approximately 12 years. Tritium can be extracted from lithium.

About the final deuterium-tritium experiments (DTE3)

JET is the only active tokamak fusion machine capable of handling tritium fuel. The third round of experiments using deuterium and tritium took place over seven weeks, from August 31 to October 14, 2023. They focused on three areas: plasma science, materials science and neutronics.

JET’s fusion energy record is the result of its advanced capability to harness deuterium-tritium plasmas. These experiments were designed primarily as the very first opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility of minimizing thermal loads on the wall in a deuterium-tritium environment, crucial for ITER scenarios.