10-07-202656
As global demand for energy continues to rise, the search for environmentally safe and sustainable energy sources is taking on global significance. One such promising direction is the technology of thermonuclear fusion. China's EAST reactor (the "artificial sun") and the ITER project under construction in France through the collaboration of 33 countries are recognised as the largest scientific programmes in this field.
An Important Step Towards the Energy of the Future
Thermonuclear fusion is a process that takes place in the Sun and other stars, in which the merging of light atomic nuclei releases an enormous amount of energy. According to specialists, mastering this technology on an industrial scale could bring about a fundamental shift in humanity's energy supply. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2025 the EAST reactor succeeded in stably maintaining high-temperature plasma for 1,066 seconds, a significant record result achieved in January 2025. This result is considered one of the most important achievements in the history of thermonuclear energy. At the same time, the ITER project, under construction in the Cadarache area of France and bringing together the 27 member states of the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, India, Japan and South Korea, has become one of the largest scientific collaboration projects in the world.
What Benefits Could It Bring to Humanity?
According to specialists, thermonuclear energy offers a number of important advantages.
First, this technology releases almost no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As a result, it could help to reduce problems associated with climate change and global warming.
Second, deuterium, used as thermonuclear fuel, is present in vast quantities in seawater. Together with reserves of lithium, these resources could meet humanity's energy needs for thousands or even millions of years.
Third, the main product of the thermonuclear reaction is helium gas, which is considered environmentally safe.
Fourth, thermonuclear plants do not produce the highly active radioactive waste requiring long-term storage that is generated at nuclear power plants. A large proportion of the reactor materials can be recycled after a certain period of time.
Fifth, no chain reaction occurs in thermonuclear reactors. For this reason, the risk of a major accident or meltdown such as the one at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is considered very low.
In addition, this technology is expected to give impetus to the development of new industrial sectors, high technologies, superconducting magnets, materials science and control systems based on artificial intelligence.
Existing Risks and Challenges
Nevertheless, it would not be correct to regard thermonuclear energy as an entirely safe technology.
The first problem is the extreme complexity of the technology. The reactor requires the stable confinement of plasma at temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees — higher than the temperature at the centre of the Sun.
The second problem is the high economic cost. The ITER project is one of the most complex scientific projects in human history, and its construction has been postponed several times. Under the revised baseline plan adopted in 2024, the project's initial research operations are scheduled to begin in 2034.
The third issue concerns the technical complexities associated with producing tritium fuel and using it safely. Specialists at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) note that this issue will be one of the key tasks for future commercial thermonuclear power plants.
The fourth problem is that the economic efficiency of this technology has not yet been fully proven. Scientists emphasise that many more tests and studies will be required before commercial thermonuclear power plants can be put into practice.
Conclusion
The majority of specialists regard thermonuclear energy as one of the most promising technologies of the twenty-first century. If this technology can be successfully brought to the commercial stage, it could provide humanity with an almost inexhaustible, environmentally clean and sustainable source of energy. However, thermonuclear energy today is still at the experimental stage, and its large-scale application will require the resolution of many scientific and technical problems. Even so, China's EAST reactor and the international ITER project are recognised as among the most important scientific initiatives capable of ushering humanity into a new energy era.
Shukhrat Khozhimurodov
Chief Specialist
Centre for Sustainable Development
Source: https://www.iter.org/few-lines