Fusion – from here to reality

Don’t miss the latest installment in the physicsworld.com Video Series, a special interview with David Ward from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) on how to build a commercial fusion reactor.

Fusion – the nuclear process that powers the Sun – has long held promise as a potential source of energy here on Earth. But recreating such conditions in the lab is far from easy, which is one reason why a commercial fusion plant is still many decades away. However, if physicists and engineers can pull the trick off, fusion could play a massive role as a vital part of our future energy mix.

In this exclusive physicsworld.com video, David Ward from the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) in the UK discusses the challenges in going from the ITER fusion project being built in southern France to a working fusion plant, dubbed DEMO. Ward, who is head of power plants and energy at the CCFE, has spent a quarter of a century working on fusion. What is interesting is that he predicts not just one version of DEMO, but many, with China potentially leading the way.

Watch the full video interview online today.

For more on fusion energy, you can also download a free PDF of a special issue of Physics World on the challenges facing nuclear power.