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Physics

How do you recycle a nuclear fusion reactor? We're about to find out

The UK's JET nuclear fusion reactor has been shut down after 40 years, and now researchers hope to repurpose many of its components in a world-first attempt at recycling a tokamak reactor

By Matthew Sparkes

29 February 2024

Robots will dismantle the JET reactor from the inside

EUROfusion

The JET nuclear fusion reactor in Oxfordshire, UK, set many records over its 40 years of operation, pushing forward our understanding of how to spark and contain reactions of the type normally only found within the heart of a star. Although it has now reached the end of its life, it will break records once more as the team behind the experiment attempt something that has never been done before: recycling a fusion reactor.

Read more

Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Is cheap, clean energy finally here?

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