Europe’s most nuclear country reaches new milestone to find ‘Holy Grail’ of fusion energy

The race to achieve sustained nuclear fusion continues, following China’s milestone in January, when it maintained steady-state fusion for 1,066 seconds—exceeding 1,000 seconds for the first time.

However, just a month later, France has set a new record. The WEST reactor, operated by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), sustained plasma for 1,337 seconds (approximately 22 minutes) during an experiment conducted in Cadarache, 69 kilometers from Marseille. This achievement surpasses the previous record set by Chinese scientists by 271 seconds.

The French experiment was carried out with an injection of 2 MW of thermal power, a crucial factor in sustaining hydrogen plasma for such an extended period. According to Isabelle Etienvre, research director at CEA, the team plans to increase power levels in future experiments, aiming to establish France as a leader in the field.

Looking ahead, the CEA intends to scale up the plasma’s heat output from 2 MW, used in the February 12 experiment, to 10 MW in the next phase—using the 1,000-second barrier as a benchmark. “This will allow us to assess the durability of components exposed to tungsten plasma under extreme conditions,” the CEA stated in a press release.

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Often referred to as the “Holy Grail” of energy, nuclear fusion replicates the process that powers the sun. While scientists have studied this technology for decades, breakthroughs like China’s demonstrate that its challenges can be overcome. However, controlling the extreme conditions required for fusion remains one of the field’s greatest technical hurdles.

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