South Korea achieved a new breakthrough with nuclear fusion experiments

The "artificial sun", or to be exact, the KSTAR fusion research device of the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), successfully maintained plasma at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 48 seconds, beating the world record. The previous 30-second record was set in 2021.

KSTAR set the record after testing from December 2023 to February this year. Mr. Si-Woo Yoon, director of the KSTAR Research Center at KFE, said the ultimate goal is for KSTAR to be able to maintain 100 million degrees Celsius for 300 seconds by 2026, an important milestone to expand the scale of operations. fusion.

Nuclear fusion (or thermonuclear reaction or fusion) mimics the process that produces light and heat from stars by fusing two atoms together to release enormous amounts of energy. This reaction has the potential to provide unlimited energy with virtually no carbon or radioactive emissions.

However, mastering thermonuclear reactions on Earth is extremely difficult. The most common way to achieve fusion power is to heat hydrogen variants to extremely high temperatures to create plasma.

KFE scientists say they have found a way to help KSTAR extend its stay at 100 million degrees Celsius by using a new tungsten diverter instead of carbon, which helps separate heat and impurities created by fusion reactions. .

"High-temperature and high-density plasmas. are very important for the future of nuclear fusion reactors," said Yoon, adding that maintaining these high temperatures is not easy due to its nature. instability of high temperature plasma. That's why this record is so important.

KSTAR's achievements in Korea will spur the development of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France, known as ITER. Mr. Yoon said KSTAR will be of great help in ensuring ITER's expected performance in time and promoting the commercialization of fusion energy.

However, commercialization of fusion reactions is still a long way off as researchers face scientific and technical difficulties. Aneeqa Khan, a fusion researcher at the University of Manchester in the UK, said fusion "is not ready and cannot help us solve the current climate crisis".

However, she added, if progress continues, fusion "has the potential to become part of the green energy mix in the second half of the century".

Last February, scientists near the British city of Oxford announced they had set a record for producing more energy than ever before in a fusion reaction. They generated 69 megajoules of fusion energy in 5 seconds, nearly enough to power 12,000 homes at once.

Kareem Winters

Update 03 April 2024