In 2023, the Joint European Torus (JET) turned 40. JET is a fusion energy tokamak device based in Oxfordshire, UK, operated by the UK Atomic Energy Authority. When powered up, plasma rushes around the reactor’s core at 150 million°C, hotter than the centre of the sun.
After decades of research, JET is set to close. But as we discovered on a recent visit, the reactor has made huge steps forward for fusion power, paving the way for the next generation of reactors.
JET is the only fusion machine able to operate with tritium within its fuel mix, and has provided valuable experimental data for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a next-generation tokamak currently under construction near Marseilles, France. The aim is that ITER will produce 10 times more energy than what is put into it, and it could bring us closer to the promise of a clean, unlimited energy source. Join Alex Wilkins as he explores JET and gets insights into the future of fusion.