Energy: New world record set in European JET fusion experiment

During JET's final experiments (DTE3), high fusion power was consistently produced for five seconds, resulting in a ground-breaking record of 69 megajoules using 0.2 milligrams of fuel, demonstrating the ability to reliably generate fusion energy.

The European EUROfusion consortium, through verification and validation processes of scientific data from the deuterium and tritium (DT3) experiments which took place at the end of 2023, announced that on 3 October 2023 69 megajoules (MJ) of energy were released with 0.2 milligrams of fuel over 5 seconds, surpassing the previous world record of 59 MJ set in 2022.

The DT3 experimental campaign confirmed the ability to replicate and improve the results of the high-energy fusion experiments previuosly obtained and demonstrated the reliability of JET's operational methodologies, crucial to the success of the international experimental reactor ITER currently under construction.

More than 300 scientists from all European fusion laboratories participated in the experiments, carried out at the European plant located at the UKAEA (United Kingdom), with a strong Italian participation in key scientific and organizational leadership roles.

The main European laboratories coordinated by EUROfusion contributed to the success of the experiments. Italy is a partner with ENEA, the National Research Council (mainly through the Institute for Plasma Science and Technology, Cnr-Istp), the RFX Consortium and some universities.

The Joint European Torus (JET) thus concluded its experimental phase. The largest European fusion plant, it was the only one capable of handling a fuel mix of deuterium and tritium, the same high-performance mix that will be used in future fusion power plants.

The press kit with photos, videos, the EUROfusion press release and additional information can be found at: ukaea.canto.global