World’s largest nuclear fusion project begins assembly in France
Project aims to show clean fusion power can be generated at commercial scale.
The €20bn (£18.2bn) Iter project will replicate the reactions that power the sun and is intended to demonstrate fusion power can be generated on a commercial scale. Nuclear fusion promises clean, unlimited power but, despite 60 years of research, it has yet to overcome the technical challenges of harnessing such extreme amounts of energy.
“Enabling the exclusive use of clean energy will be a miracle for our planet,” said Bernard Bigot, Iter director-general. He said fusion, alongside renewable energy, would allow transport, buildings and industry to run on electricity.
Like conventional nuclear fission reactors, the process itself does not produce climate-warming carbon dioxide but fusion reactors cannot meltdown and produce much less radioactive waste.
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