Editing Fusion power (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of nuclear fusion|Timeline of nuclear fusion}}
{{cleanup rewrite|2=section|date=February 2023}}

=== Milestones in fusion experiments ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Milestone
!Year
!Device
!Location
|-
|First laboratory thermonuclear fusion
|1958
|[[Scylla I]]
|{{Flagicon|US}} [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]]
|-
|First tokamak fusion
|1969
|[[T-3 (tokamak)|T-3A]]
|{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Kurchatov Institute]]
|-
|First laser inertial confinement fusion
|1974
|[[KMS Fusion]] laser
|{{Flagicon|US}} [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]
|-
|First 50-50 deuterium-tritium experiments
|1991
|[[Joint European Torus]]
|{{Flagicon|UK}} [[Culham Centre for Fusion Energy]]
|-
|First [[Fusion energy gain factor|extrapolated fusion energy gain factor]] above 1
|1992
|[[Joint European Torus]]
|{{Flagicon|UK}} [[Culham Centre for Fusion Energy]]
|-
|First [[fusion energy gain factor]] above 1
|2022
|[[National Ignition Facility]]
|{{Flagicon|US}} [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]]
|}

=== Early experiments ===
[[File:Kink instability at Aldermaston.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Early photo of plasma inside a pinch machine (Imperial College 1950–1951)]]
[[File:A sun of our own newspaper headline.jpg|thumb|alt=The UK claimed that it had gotten fusion first in 1957 on ZETA, but this claim had to later be withdrawn. |The UK claimed that it had gotten fusion first in 1957 on ZETA, but this claim had to later be withdrawn.]]

The first machine to achieve controlled [[thermonuclear fusion]] was a [[Pinch (plasma physics)|pinch machine]] at Los Alamos National Laboratory called Scylla I at the start of 1958. The team that achieved it was led by a British scientist named [[James L. Tuck|James Tuck]] and included a young [[Marshall Rosenbluth]]. Tuck had been involved in the Manhattan project, but had switched to working on fusion in the early 1950s. He applied for funding for the project as part of a White House sponsored contest to develop a fusion reactor along with [[Lyman Spitzer]]. The previous year, 1957, the British had claimed that they had achieved thermonuclear fusion reactions on the [[ZETA (fusion reactor)|Zeta pinch machine]]. However, it turned out that the neutrons they had detected were from beam-target interactions, not fusion, and they withdrew the claim. A [[CERN]]-sponsored study group on controlled thermonuclear fusion met from 1958 to 1964. This group ceased when it became clear that CERN discontinued its limited support for plasma physics.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hof |first=Barbara |title=Fusion divided: what prevented European collaboration on controlled thermonuclear fusion in 1958 |date=October 21, 2024 |arxiv=2410.15969 }}</ref>

Scylla I was a classified machine at the time, so the achievement was hidden from the public. A traditional [[Z-pinch]] passes a current down the center of a plasma, which makes a magnetic force around the outside which squeezes the plasma to fusion conditions. Scylla I was a [[Theta pinch|θ-pinch]], which used deuterium to pass a current around the outside of its cylinder to create a magnetic force in the center.<ref name="Seife, Charles 2008" /><ref name="Phillips, James 2013" /> After the success of Scylla I, Los Alamos went on to build multiple pinch machines over the next few years.

Spitzer continued his stellarator research at Princeton. While fusion did not immediately transpire, the effort led to the creation of the [[Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stix|first=T. H.|date=1998|title=Highlights in early stellarator research at Princeton|url=http://inis.iaea.org/Search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:30002355|journal=Helical System Research|pages=3–8 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tech report|last=Johnson|first=John L.|date=November 16, 2001|title=The Evolution of Stellarator Theory at Princeton|url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/792587-fxKdXU/native/|language=en|doi=10.2172/792587|osti=792587}}</ref>

=== First tokamak ===
In the early 1950s, Soviet physicists [[Igor Tamm|I.E. Tamm]] and [[Andrei Sakharov|A.D. Sakharov]] developed the concept of the tokamak, combining a low-power pinch device with a low-power stellarator.<ref name="quest" />
[[Andrei Sakharov|A.D. Sakharov]]'s group constructed the first tokamaks, achieving the first quasistationary fusion reaction.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Irvine|first=Maxwell |title=Nuclear power: a very short introduction|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199584970|location=Oxford|language=en|oclc=920881367}}</ref><sup>:90</sup>

Over time, the "advanced tokamak" concept emerged, which included non-circular plasma, internal diverters and limiters, superconducting magnets, operation in the "H-mode" island of increased stability,<ref>{{Citation|last=Kusama|first=Y.|title=Requirements for Diagnostics in Controlling Advanced Tokamak Modes|date=2002|work=Advanced Diagnostics for Magnetic and Inertial Fusion|pages=31–38|editor-last=Stott|editor-first=Peter E.|place=Boston, MA|publisher=Springer US|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-1-4419-8696-2_5|isbn=978-1441986962|editor2-last=Wootton|editor2-first=Alan|editor3-last=Gorini|editor3-first=Giuseppe|editor4-last=Sindoni|editor4-first=Elio}}</ref> and the compact tokamak, with the magnets on the inside of the vacuum chamber.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Menard|first=J. E.|date=February 4, 2019|title=Compact steady-state tokamak performance dependence on magnet and core physics limits|url= |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences|volume=377|issue=2141|pages=20170440|doi=10.1098/rsta.2017.0440|pmid=30967044|pmc=6365855|bibcode=2019RSPTA.37770440M|issn=1364-503X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaw |first=P. K. |date=1999 |title=Steady state operation of tokamaks |journal=Nuclear Fusion |volume=39 |issue=11 |pages=1605–1607 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/39/11/411 |issn=0029-5515 |s2cid=250826481}}</ref>
[[File:TMX Baseball Coils.jpg|thumb|Magnetic mirrors suffered from end losses, requiring high power, complex magnetic designs, such as the baseball coil pictured here.]]
{{multiple image
| image1 = Novette laser.jpg
| width1 = 150
| caption1 = The Novette target chamber (metal sphere with diagnostic devices protruding radially), which was reused from the [[shiva laser|Shiva]] project and two newly built laser chains visible in background
| image2 = Fusion target implosion on NOVA laser.jpg
| width2 = 150
| caption2 = Inertial confinement fusion implosion on the [[Nova laser]] during the 1980s was a key driver of fusion development.
}}

=== First inertial confinement experiments ===
{{multiple image
 | total_width = 440
 | image1 = Shiva amplifier chains.jpg
 | caption1 = Shiva laser, 1977, the largest ICF laser system built in the seventies
 | image2 = The Tandem Mirror Experiment.jpg
 | caption2 = The Tandem Mirror Experiment (TMX) in 1979 }}

Laser fusion was suggested in 1962 by scientists at [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] (LLNL), shortly after the invention of the laser in 1960. [[Inertial confinement fusion]] experiments using lasers began as early as 1965.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} Several laser systems were built at LLNL, including the [[Argus laser|Argus]], the [[Cyclops laser|Cyclops]], the [[Janus laser|Janus]], the [[Long path laser|long path]], the [[Shiva laser]], and the [[Nova (laser)|Nova]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1088/0029-5515/25/9/063 | volume=25 | title=Highlights of laser fusion related research by United Kingdom universities using the SERC Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory | year=1985 | journal=Nuclear Fusion | pages=1351–1353 | last1 = Key | first1 = M.H.| issue=9 | s2cid=119922168 }}</ref>

Laser advances included frequency-tripling crystals that transformed infrared laser beams into ultraviolet beams and "chirping", which changed a single wavelength into a full spectrum that could be amplified and then reconstituted into one frequency.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Inertial confinement nuclear fusion : a historical approach by its pioneers|date=2007|publisher=Foxwell & Davies (UK)|editor=Verlarde, G. |editor2=Carpintero–Santamaría, Natividad |isbn=978-1905868100|location=London |oclc=153575814}}</ref> Laser research cost over one billion dollars in the 1980s.<ref name="NRDC">{{cite web |last1=McKinzie |first1=Matthew |last2=Paine |first2=Christopher E. |date=2000 |title=When peer review fails: The Roots of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Debacle |url=http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nif2/findings.asp |access-date=October 30, 2014 |publisher=National Resources Defense Council}}</ref>

=== 1980s ===
The [[Tore Supra]], [[Joint European Torus|JET]], [[T-15 (reactor)|T-15]], and [[JT-60]] tokamaks were built in the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |title=Tore Supra |access-date=February 3, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115112229/http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smirnov |first=V. P. |date=December 30, 2009 |title=Tokamak foundation in USSR/Russia 1950–1990 |url=http://fire.pppl.gov/nf_50th_5_Smirnov.pdf |journal=Nuclear Fusion |volume=50 |issue=1 |pages=014003 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/50/1/014003 |issn=0029-5515 |s2cid=17487157}}</ref> In 1984, Martin Peng of ORNL proposed the [[spherical tokamak]] with a much smaller radius.<ref>Y-K Martin Peng, "Spherical Torus, Compact Fusion at Low Yield". Oak Ridge National Laboratory/FEDC-87/7 (December 1984)</ref> It used a single large conductor in the center, with magnets as half-rings off this conductor. The aspect ratio fell to as low as 1.2.<ref name="Small Tight">{{Cite journal|last=Sykes|first=Alan|date=1997|title=High β produced by neutral beam injection in the START (Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak) spherical tokamak|journal=Physics of Plasmas|language=en|volume=4|issue=5|pages=1665–1671|doi=10.1063/1.872271|bibcode=1997PhPl....4.1665S|issn=1070-664X|doi-access=free}}</ref><sup>:B247</sup><ref>{{Cite book|last=Braams, C. M. |title=Nuclear fusion: half a century of magnetic confinement fusion research|author2=Stott, P. E. |year=2002|publisher=Institute of Physics Pub. |isbn=978-0367801519|oclc=1107880260}}</ref><sup>:225</sup> Peng's advocacy caught the interest of [[Derek Robinson (physicist)|Derek Robinson]], who built the [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak]], (START).<ref name="Small Tight" />

=== 1990s ===
<!-- {{multiple image
 | width1 = 220
 | image1 = [[WP:NFCC]] violation: Z-machine480.jpg
 | caption1 = Z Machine (a pinch at SNL) went through a number of upgrades during the mid to late nineties }} -->

In 1991, the Preliminary Tritium Experiment at the [[Joint European Torus]] achieved the world's first controlled release of fusion power.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jarvis |first1=O. N. |date=June 16, 2006 |title=Neutron measurements from the preliminary tritium experiment at JET (invited) |journal=Review of Scientific Instruments |volume=63 |issue=10 |pages=4511–4516 |doi=10.1063/1.1143707}}</ref>

In 1996, Tore Supra created a plasma for two minutes with a current of almost 1&nbsp;million amperes, totaling 280 MJ of injected and extracted energy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Garin|first=Pascal|date=October 2001|title=Actively cooled plasma facing components in Tore Supra|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0920-3796(01)00242-3|journal=Fusion Engineering and Design|volume=56–57|pages=117–123|doi=10.1016/s0920-3796(01)00242-3|bibcode=2001FusED..56..117G |issn=0920-3796}}</ref>

In 1997, JET produced a peak of 16.1&nbsp;MW of fusion power (65% of heat to plasma<ref>{{Cite book |author=European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation |year=2004 |title=Fusion Research: An Energy Option for Europe's Future |location=Luxembourg |publisher=Office for Official Publications of the European Communities |isbn=92-894-7714-8 |oclc=450075815}}</ref>), with fusion power of over 10&nbsp;MW sustained for over 0.5&nbsp;sec.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Claessens |first=Michel|date=2020|title=ITER: The Giant Fusion Reactor|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27581-5|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-27581-5|isbn=978-3030275808|s2cid=243590344}}</ref>

=== 2000s ===
[[File:MAST plasma image.jpg|thumbnail|The [[Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak]] became operational in the UK in 1999.]]

"Fast ignition"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Atzeni |first=Stefano |title=The physics of inertial fusion : beam plasma interaction, hydrodynamics, hot dense matter|date=2004|publisher=Clarendon Press|others=Meyer-ter-Vehn, Jürgen|isbn=978-0198562641|location=Oxford|oclc=56645784}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Pfalzner|first=Susanne|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781420011845|title=An Introduction to Inertial Confinement Fusion|date=March 2, 2006|publisher=CRC Press|doi=10.1201/9781420011845|isbn=978-0429148156}}</ref> saved power and moved ICF into the race for energy production.

In 2006, China's [[Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak]] (EAST) test reactor was completed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=People's Daily Online – China to build world's first "artificial sun" experimental device|url=http://en.people.cn/200601/21/eng20060121_237208.html|access-date=October 10, 2020|website=en.people.cn|archive-date=June 5, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605190505/http://english.people.com.cn/200601/21/eng20060121_237208.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was the first tokamak to use superconducting magnets to generate both toroidal and poloidal fields.

In March 2009, the laser-driven ICF [[National Ignition Facility|NIF]] became operational.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What Is the National Ignition Facility? |url=https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/what-is-nif |access-date=August 7, 2022 |website=lasers.llnl.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731064919/https://lasers.llnl.gov/about/what-is-nif |archive-date=July 31, 2017 |publisher=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory}}</ref>

In the 2000s, privately backed fusion companies entered the race, including [[TAE Technologies]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelkanellos/2013/03/11/hollywood-silicon-valley-and-russia-join-forces-on-nuclear-fusion/#12c2795972ba|title=Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Russia Join Forces on Nuclear Fusion|last=Kanellos|first=Michael|work=Forbes|access-date=August 21, 2017|language=en}}</ref> [[General Fusion]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=Frochtzwajg|first=Jonathan|title=The secretive, billionaire-backed plans to harness fusion|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160428-the-secretive-billionaire-backed-plans-to-harness-fusion|access-date=August 21, 2017|website=BBC|date=April 28, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clery|first=Daniel|date=July 25, 2014|title=Fusion's restless pioneers|journal=Science|language=en|volume=345|issue=6195|pages=370–375|bibcode=2014Sci...345..370C|doi=10.1126/science.345.6195.370|issn=0036-8075|pmid=25061186|ref=none}}</ref> and [[Tokamak Energy]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gray |first=Richard |date=April 19, 2017 |title=The British reality TV star building a fusion reactor |url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170418-the-made-in-chelsea-star-building-a-fusion-reactor |access-date=August 21, 2017 |website=BBC}}</ref>

=== 2010s ===
[[File:Preamplifier at the National Ignition Facility.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|The preamplifiers of the National Ignition Facility. In 2012, the NIF achieved a 500-terawatt shot.]]
[[File:Wendelstein7-X Torushall-2011.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|The Wendelstein7X under construction]]
[[File:W7X-Spulen Plasma blau gelb.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Example of a stellarator design: A coil system (blue) surrounds plasma (yellow). A magnetic field line is highlighted in green on the yellow plasma surface.]]

Private and public research accelerated in the 2010s. General Fusion developed plasma injector technology and Tri Alpha Energy tested its C-2U device.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Clery|first=Daniel|date=April 28, 2017|title=Private fusion machines aim to beat massive global effort|journal=Science|language=en|volume=356|issue=6336|pages=360–361|bibcode=2017Sci...356..360C|doi=10.1126/science.356.6336.360|issn=0036-8075|pmid=28450588|s2cid=206621512}}</ref> The French [[Laser Mégajoule]] began operation. NIF achieved net energy gain<ref>{{cite web |title=PW 2012: fusion laser on track for 2012 burn |publisher=Optics.org |author=SPIE Europe Ltd |url=http://optics.org/news/3/1/37 |access-date=June 22, 2013}}</ref> in 2013, as defined in the very limited sense as the hot spot at the core of the collapsed target, rather than the whole target.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621 |title=Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab |publisher=BBC News |access-date=October 30, 2014}}</ref>

In 2014, [[Phoenix Nuclear Labs]] sold a high-yield [[neutron generator]] that could sustain 5×10<sup>11</sup> [[deuterium]] fusion reactions per second over a 24-hour period.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://phoenixnuclearlabs.com/product/high-yield-neutron-generator/|title=The Alectryon High Yield Neutron Generator|year=2013|publisher=Phoenix Nuclear Labs}}</ref>

In 2015, [[MIT]] announced a [[tokamak]] it named the [[ARC fusion reactor]], using [[rare-earth barium-copper oxide]] (REBCO) superconducting tapes to produce high-magnetic field coils that it claimed could produce comparable magnetic field strength in a smaller configuration than other designs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Chandler |first=David L. |title=A small, modular, efficient fusion plant |work=MIT News |publisher=MIT News Office |url=http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/small-modular-efficient-fusion-plant-0810 |date=August 10, 2015}}</ref>

In October, researchers at the [[Max Planck Institute of Plasma Physics]] in Greifswald, Germany, completed building the largest [[stellarator]] to date, the [[Wendelstein 7-X]] (W7-X). The W7-X stellarator began Operational phase 1 (OP1.1) on December 10, 2015, successfully producing helium plasma.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0029-5515/55/12/126001|title=Plans for the first plasma operation of Wendelstein 7-X|journal=Nuclear Fusion |date=November 2015 |volume=55 |issue=12 |page=126001 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/55/12/126001 |last1=Sunn Pedersen |first1=T. |last2=Andreeva |first2=T. |last3=Bosch |first3=H. -S |last4=Bozhenkov |first4=S. |last5=Effenberg |first5=F. |last6=Endler |first6=M. |last7=Feng |first7=Y. |last8=Gates |first8=D. A. |last9=Geiger |first9=J. |last10=Hartmann |first10=D. |last11=Hölbe |first11=H. |last12=Jakubowski |first12=M. |last13=König |first13=R. |last14=Laqua |first14=H. P. |last15=Lazerson |first15=S. |last16=Otte |first16=M. |last17=Preynas |first17=M. |last18=Schmitz |first18=O. |last19=Stange |first19=T. |last20=Turkin |first20=Y. |bibcode=2015NucFu..55l6001P |hdl=11858/00-001M-0000-0029-04EB-D |s2cid=67798335 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> The objective was to test vital systems and understand the machine's physics. By February 2016, hydrogen plasma was achieved, with temperatures reaching up to 100 million Kelvin. The initial tests used five graphite limiters. After over 2,000 pulses and achieving significant milestones, OP1.1 concluded on March 10, 2016. An upgrade followed, and OP1.2 in 2017 aimed to test an uncooled divertor. By June 2018, record temperatures were reached. W7-X concluded its first campaigns with limiter and island divertor tests, achieving notable advancements by the end of 2018.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Confirmation of the topology of the Wendelstein 7-X magnetic field to better than 1:100,000 |journal=Nature Communications |volume=7 |pages=13493 |doi=10.1038/ncomms13493|pmid=27901043 |pmc=5141350 |year=2016 |last1=Pedersen |first1=T. Sunn |last2=Otte |first2=M. |last3=Lazerson |first3=S. |last4=Helander |first4=P. |last5=Bozhenkov |first5=S. |last6=Biedermann |first6=C. |last7=Klinger |first7=T. |last8=Wolf |first8=R. 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In 2017, [[Helion Energy]]'s fifth-generation plasma machine went into operation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wang|first=Brian|date=August 1, 2018|title=Nuclear Fusion Updated project reviews|url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/08/nuclear-fusion-updated-project-reviews.html|access-date=August 3, 2018|website=www.nextbigfuture.com|language=en-US}}</ref> The UK's Tokamak Energy's [[Tokamak Energy|ST40]] generated "first plasma".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/the-uk-has-just-switch-on-its-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-reactor|title=The UK Just Switched on an Ambitious Fusion Reactor – And It Works|last=MacDonald|first=Fiona|website=ScienceAlert|date=May 2017 |language=en-gb|access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> The next year, [[Eni]] announced a $50&nbsp;million investment in [[Commonwealth Fusion Systems]], to attempt to commercialize MIT's [[ARC fusion reactor|ARC]] technology.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclearpower-fusion-eni/italys-eni-defies-skeptics-may-up-stake-in-nuclear-fusion-project-idUSKBN1HK1JJ |title=Italy's Eni defies sceptics, may up stake in nuclear fusion project |date=April 13, 2018|newspaper=Reuters }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.seeker.com/energy/mit-aims-to-harness-fusion-power-within-15-years |title=MIT Aims to Harness Fusion Power Within 15 years |date=April 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2018/03/09/mit-nuclear-fusion |title=MIT Aims To Bring Nuclear Fusion To The Market In 10 Years |date=March 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Chandler |first=David |date=March 9, 2018 |title=MIT and newly formed company launch novel approach to fusion power |url=https://news.mit.edu/2018/mit-newly-formed-company-launch-novel-approach-fusion-power-0309 |website=MIT News |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology}}</ref>

=== 2020s ===
In January 2021, SuperOx announced the commercialization of a new [[superconducting wire]] with more than 700 A/mm<sup>2</sup> current capability.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Molodyk |first1=A. |last2=Samoilenkov |first2=S. |last3=Markelov |first3=A. |last4=Degtyarenko |first4=P. |last5=Lee |first5=S. |last6=Petrykin |first6=V. |last7=Gaifullin |first7=M. |last8=Mankevich |first8=A. |last9=Vavilov |first9=A. |last10=Sorbom |first10=B. |last11=Cheng |first11=J. |last12=Garberg |first12=S. |last13=Kesler |first13=L. |last14=Hartwig |first14=Z. |last15=Gavrilkin |first15=S. |last16=Tsvetkov |first16=A. |last17=Okada |first17=T. |last18=Awaji |first18=S. |last19=Abraimov |first19=D. |last20=Francis |first20=A. |last21=Bradford |first21=G. |last22=Larbalestier |first22=D. |last23=Senatore |first23=C. |last24=Bonura |first24=M. |last25=Pantoja |first25=A. E. |last26=Wimbush |first26=S. C. |last27=Strickland |first27=N. M. |last28=Vasiliev |first28=A. |title=Development and large volume production of extremely high current density YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 superconducting wires for fusion |journal=Scientific Reports |date=January 22, 2021 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=2084 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-81559-z|pmid=33483553 |pmc=7822827 }}</ref>

TAE Technologies announced results for its Norman device, holding a temperature of about 60&nbsp;MK for 30 milliseconds, 8 and 10 times higher, respectively, than the company's previous devices.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Clery|first=Daniel|date=April 8, 2021|title=With "smoke ring" technology, fusion startup marks steady progress|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/smoke-ring-technology-fusion-startup-marks-steady-progress|access-date=April 11, 2021|website=Science {{!}} AAAS|language=en}}</ref>

In October, Oxford-based [[First Light Fusion]] revealed its projectile fusion project, which fires an aluminum disc at a fusion target, accelerated by a 9 mega-amp electrical pulse, reaching speeds of {{Convert|20|km/s}}. The resulting fusion generates neutrons whose energy is captured as heat.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Morris|first=Ben|date=September 30, 2021|title=Clean energy from the fastest moving objects on earth|language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58602159|access-date=December 9, 2021}}</ref>

On November 8, in an invited talk to the 63rd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics,<ref>{{Cite conference |conference=63rd Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, November 8–12, 2021; Pittsburgh, PA |url=https://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/DPP21/Session/AR01?showAbstract|title = Session AR01: Review: Creating A Burning Plasma on the National Ignition Facility|volume = 66|issue = 13 |work= Bulletin of the American Physical Society}}</ref> the National Ignition Facility claimed<ref name="physics_v14_168">{{Cite journal 
|url=https://physics.aps.org/articles/v14/168|title = Ignition First in a Fusion Reaction|journal = Physics|date = November 30, 2021|volume = 14|last1 = Wright|first1 = Katherine|page = 168|doi = 10.1103/Physics.14.168|bibcode = 2021PhyOJ..14..168W|s2cid = 244829710|doi-access = free}}</ref> to have triggered [[fusion ignition]] in the laboratory on August 8, 2021, for the first time in the 60+ year history of the ICF program.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunning |first=Hayley |date=August 17, 2021 |title=Major nuclear fusion milestone reached as "ignition" triggered in a lab |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-08-major-nuclear-fusion-milestone-ignition.html |website=Science X Network}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bishop |first=Breanna |date=August 18, 2021 |title=National Ignition Facility experiment puts researchers at threshold of fusion ignition |url=https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-experiment-puts-researchers-threshold-fusion-ignition |website=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory}}</ref> The shot yielded 1.3 MJ of fusion energy, an over 8X improvement on tests done in spring of 2021.<ref name="physics_v14_168" /> NIF estimates that 230&nbsp;kJ of energy reached the fuel capsule, which resulted in an almost 6-fold energy output from the capsule.<ref name="physics_v14_168" /> A researcher from Imperial College London stated that the majority of the field agreed that ignition had been demonstrated.<ref name="physics_v14_168" />

In November 2021, [[Helion Energy]] reported receiving $500 million in Series E funding for its seventh-generation Polaris device, designed to demonstrate net electricity production, with an additional $1.7&nbsp;billion of commitments tied to specific milestones,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Conca|first=James|title=Helion Energy Raises $500 Million On The Fusion Power Of Stars|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2021/11/09/helion-energy-raises-500-million-on-the-fusion-power-of-stars/|access-date=December 19, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en}}</ref> while Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised an additional $1.8&nbsp;billion in Series B funding to construct and operate its [[SPARC (tokamak)|SPARC tokamak]], the single largest investment in any private fusion company.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Journal|first=Jennifer Hiller {{!}} Photographs by Tony Luong for The Wall Street|date=December 1, 2021|title=WSJ News Exclusive {{!}} Nuclear-Fusion Startup Lands $1.8 Billion as Investors Chase Star Power|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-fusion-startup-lands-1-8-billion-as-investors-chase-star-power-11638334801|access-date=December 17, 2021|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

In April 2022, First Light announced that their hypersonic projectile fusion prototype had produced neutrons compatible with fusion. Their technique electromagnetically fires projectiles at [[Mach number|Mach]] 19 at a caged fuel pellet. The deuterium fuel is compressed at Mach 204, reaching pressure levels of 100 TPa.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Blain |first=Loz |date=April 6, 2022 |title=Oxford spinoff demonstrates world-first hypersonic "projectile fusion" |url=https://newatlas.com/energy/first-light-nuclear-fusion-projectile/ |access-date=April 6, 2022 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref>

On December 13, 2022, the [[US Department of Energy]] reported that researchers at the National Ignition Facility had achieved a net energy gain from a fusion reaction. The reaction of hydrogen fuel at the facility produced about 3.15 MJ of energy while consuming 2.05 MJ of input. However, while the fusion reactions may have produced more than 3 megajoules of energy—more than was delivered to the target—NIF's 192 lasers consumed 322 MJ of grid energy in the conversion process.<ref name="NYT-209221213">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=December 13, 2022 |title=Scientists Achieve Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough With Blast of 192 Lasers – The advancement by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers will be built on to further develop fusion energy research. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/science/nuclear-fusion-energy-breakthrough.html |access-date=December 13, 2022 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="Ignition">{{Cite news |date=December 13, 2022 |title=DOE National Laboratory Makes History by Achieving Fusion Ignition |url=https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-national-laboratory-makes-history-achieving-fusion-ignition |access-date=December 13, 2022 |work=US Department of Energy}}</ref><ref name="WP-20221212">{{cite news |last=Osaka |first=Shannon |title=What you need to know about the U.S. fusion energy breakthrough |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2022/12/12/nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-benefits/ |date=December 12, 2022 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=December 13, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hartsfield |first=Tom |date=December 13, 2022 |title=There is no "breakthrough": NIF fusion power still consumes 130 times more energy than it creates |url=https://bigthink.com/the-future/fusion-power-nif-hype-lose-energy/ |website=Big Think}}</ref>

In May 2023, the [[United States Department of Energy]] (DOE) provided a grant of $46 million to eight companies across seven states to support fusion power plant design and research efforts. This funding, under the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, aligns with objectives to demonstrate pilot-scale fusion within a decade and to develop fusion as a carbon-neutral energy source by 2050. The granted companies are tasked with addressing the scientific and technical challenges to create viable fusion pilot plant designs in the next 5–10 years. The recipient firms include [[Commonwealth Fusion Systems]], Focused Energy Inc., Princeton Stellarators Inc., Realta Fusion Inc., Tokamak Energy Inc., Type One Energy Group, Xcimer Energy Inc., and Zap Energy Inc.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gardner |first=Timothy |date=June 1, 2023 |title=US announces $46 million in funds to eight nuclear fusion companies |agency=Reuters}}</ref> 

In December 2023, the largest and most advanced tokamak JT-60SA was inaugurated in [[Naka, Ibaraki|Naka]], Japan. The reactor is a joint project between Japan and the European Union. The reactor had achieved its first plasma in October 2023.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dobberstein |first=Laura |date=December 4, 2023 |title=World's largest nuclear fusion reactor comes online in Japan |url=https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/04/jt_60sa_tokamak_online/ |website=The Register |publisher=Situation Publishing}}</ref> Subsequently, South Korea's fusion reactor project, the [[Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research]], successfully operated for 102 seconds in a high-containment mode (H-mode) containing high ion temperatures of more than 100 million degrees in plasma tests conducted from December 2023 to February 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 21, 2024 |title=S. Korea's artificial sun project KSTAR achieves longest operation time of 102 seconds |url=https://m.ajudaily.com/view/20240321111705997 |work=[[Aju Business Daily]]}}</ref>

In January 2025, EAST fusion reactor in China was reported to maintain a steady-state high-confinement plasma operation for 1066 seconds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://english.news.cn/20250120/1d4e392ccaef48f29e8e9cdd0f9360c5/c.html|title=China Focus: Chinese "artificial sun" sets new record in milestone step toward fusion power generation|website=english.news.cn}}</ref> In February 2025, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) announced that its [[WEST (formerly Tore Supra)|WEST]] tokamak had maintained a stable plasma for 1,337 seconds—over 22 minutes. <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=CEA |date=February 18, 2025 |title=Nuclear fusion: WEST beats the world record for plasma duration! |url=https://www.cea.fr/english/Pages/News/nuclear-fusion-west-beats-the-world-record-for-plasma-duration.aspx |access-date=February 20, 2025 |website=CEA/English Portal |language=en}}</ref>