Scientists at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) have successfully tested a world-first concept that could clear one of the major hurdles in developing fusion.

Initial results from experiments using UKAEA’s new Mast (mega amp spherical tokamak) Upgrade device at Culham, near Oxford, UK, have demonstrated the effectiveness of an innovative exhaust system designed to make compact fusion power plants commercially viable.

Fusion energy is based on the same principle by which stars create heat and light. Using a machine called a tokamak, a fusion power station will heat a gas, or “plasma”, enabling types of hydrogen fuel to fuse together to release energy that can generate electricity.