Produced by: Tarun Mishra Designed by: Manoj Kumar
Japan has unveiled JT-60SA, the world's largest operational experimental nuclear fusion reactor, located in a hangar north of Tokyo in Naka.
Unlike traditional nuclear fission, the JT-60SA employes fusion, mimicking the sun's energy production by merging two atomic nuclei, potentially offering a safer and more abundant energy source.
Standing six stories high, the tokamak has been designed to contain and control plasma heat to an astonishing 200 million degrees Celsius, exploring the viability of fusion as a secure, expansive, and carbon-neutral energy source.
A collaboration between the European Union and Japan, the project involves over 500 scientists, engineers, and 70 companies from both regions.
The JT-60SA acts as a precursor to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France, both sharing the ambitious goal of achieving net energy gain from fusion, potentially revolutionizing global energy systems.
Sam Davis, the Deputy Project Leader, underscored the collaborative effort behind the JT-60SA, highlighting the involvement of experts from Europe and Japan in this search for a source of unlimited energy.
EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson praised the reactor as the "most advanced tokamak in the world" and a significant milestone in the history of fusion, projecting fusion's potential centrality in the global energy mix later in that century.
The pursuit of net energy gain from fusion received a boost with the recent success at the National Ignition Facility in the United States, using inertial confinement fusion, enhancing optimism for the JT-60SA's contribution to a fusion-powered future.
Fusion energy stood out for its safety advantages over fission, eliminating the risk of catastrophic accidents like the Fukushima disaster in 2011 and producing minimal radioactive waste.