A material future for fusion?

JET interior with superimposed plasma

Source: © UKAEA/EUROfusion

Nuclear fusion has been a dream for decades. Kit Chapman finds out about the latest developments that could help it fulfil its promise

The idea of fusion power and its promise of near-limitless, clean energy has been around for a century, but a viable reactor still seems decades away. So why is fusion power worth getting excited about, and is it the future of energy, or merely a pipedream? It’s the challenge – essentially how to replicate the interior of a star – that has led to very different angles to try and make fusion energy achievable. It’s a race that could decide how the world will be powered in the future.