Energy based on power of stars is step closer after nuclear fusion heat record

Feat by scientists at Oxfordshire facility described as fitting swansong' for pioneering project as reactor is decommissioned

The prospect of a green energy source based on the power of the stars has received a boost after scientists set a world record for the amount of energy created by fusing atoms together.

Researchers at the Joint European Torus (JET), an experimental fusion reactor at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, generated 69 megajoules of energy over five seconds from a mere 0.2 milligrams of fuel in the final fusion experiment performed at the facility.