Editing Fusion power (section)

=== 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>