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BBC News
By Paul Rincon
Published
image captionArtwork: Mast Upgrade has been testing an innovative design
Initial results from a UK experiment could help clear a hurdle to achieving commercial power based on nuclear fusion, experts say.
The researchers believe they now have a way to remove the excess heat produced by fusion reactions.
This intense heat can melt materials used inside a reactor, limiting the amount of time it can operate for.
The system, which has been likened to a car exhaust, resulted in a tenfold reduction in the heat.
The tests were carried out at the Mast (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) Upgrade nuclear fusion experiment at Culham in Oxfordshire. The £55m device began operating in October last year, after a seven-year build.
âA pivotal developmentâ: new exhaust system could clear major hurdle for fusion energy 26 May 2021
Professional Engineering First plasma at the UK s Mast Upgrade fusion energy experiment in October last year (Credit: UKAEA) A âworld-firstâ concept developed by scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) could clear one of the major hurdles in developing commercial fusion energy.
Initial results from UKAEA’s Mast Upgrade experiment in Culham, near Oxford, demonstrated the effectiveness of an innovative exhaust system that could keep fusion power plants operating for much longer.
Using a tokamak reactor, fusion power stations will heat a plasma to enable types of hydrogen to fuse together, releasing energy that can be used to generate electricity.