UK-based First Light Fusion has achieved fusion for the first time using a unique approach that the company says is simpler, more energy efficient and has lower physics risk.

The company said the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) had independently validated the result.

“This is the first time fusion has been achieved using the unique targets developed by First Light, and the corresponding projectile technology,” a First Light statement said.

“First Light’s mission is to solve the problem of fusion power with the simplest machine possible.”

The company’s “projectile fusion” approach could “potentially revolutionise power production in the coming decades”, according to Dr Nick Hawker, co-founder and chief executive officer of First Light Fusion, which was spun out from the University of Oxford in 2011.