JT-60SA, the world’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion reactor started its official operations in Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture on Friday (Dec 1). JT-60SA is a joint initiative between the European Union and Japan.
The experimental nuclear fusion reactor is quite a new technology. However, some say that it is the answer to humanity’s future energy needs by establishing nuclear fusion as a clean energy source.
Notably, fusion differs from fission, the technique currently used in nuclear power plants. The process includes fusing two atomic nuclei instead of splitting one.
A press release by the European Commission for Energy mentioned that during the inauguration ceremony, the EU and Japan “underlined their support for the operation and technical upgrades of JT-60SA to continue producing groundbreaking research results”.
The JT-60SA reactor is a six-storey-high machine, which is kept in a hangar in Naka north of Tokyo. It comprises a doughnut-shaped “tokamak” vessel set to contain swirling plasma heated up to 200 million degrees Celsius.
Similar to ITER
JT-60SA is a forerunner for its big brother in France, the under-construction International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
JT-60SA and ITER both are to coax hydrogen nuclei inside to fuse into one heavier element, helium, releasing energy in the form of light and heat.
On one side, JT-60SA has started operations, but researchers at ITER are behind schedule and facing major technical problems. The project is over budget. The researchers hope to achieve nuclear fusion technology’s holy grail, net energy.
Sam Davis, who is the deputy project leader for the JT-60SA, said the device will “bring us closer to fusion energy”.
At Friday’s inauguration, Davis said: “It’s the result of a collaboration between more than 500 scientists and engineers and more than 70 companies throughout Europe and Japan.”
As quoted by the news agency AFP, EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said the JT-60SA was “the most advanced tokamak in the world”, calling the start of operations “a milestone for fusion history”.
“Fusion has the potential to become a key component for energy mix in the second half of this century,” Simson added.
