Nuclear fusion heat record a ‘huge step’ in quest for new energy source

Oxfordshire scientists' feat raises hopes of using reactions that power sun for low-carbon energy

The prospect of harnessing the power of the stars has moved a step closer to reality after scientists set a new record for the amount of energy released in a sustained fusion reaction.

Researchers at the Joint European Torus (JET), a fusion experiment in Oxfordshire, generated 59 megajoules of heat - equivalent to about 14kg of TNT - during a five-second burst of fusion, more than doubling the previous record of 21.7 megajoules set in 1997 by the same facility.