Researchers reach fusion energy milestone
JET was created as a Joint Undertaking of the European Community in 1978 under the Euratom Fusion Programme. In the last seven years alone (2014-2021), the EU has funded its operation with almost half a billion Euros. Researchers from the EUROfusion consortium – a team of 4,800 scientists, engineers, experts, students and staff from across Europe, including the United Kingdom (UK), Switzerland and Ukraine - completed the fusion experimental campaign with the same fuel mixture that will be used by ITER, the next generation tokamak built in Cadarache, France, by a global consortium gathering the EU, China, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
EU Ambassador to the UK João Vale de Almeida said at a press conference in Culham:
“For this breakthrough, I wish to congratulate all the scientists and engineers of the EUROfusion Consortium, which includes the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and its 29 European partners, working jointly here at the Joint European Torus. Today is your day! Through your hard work and your great skills, you achieved an unprecedented record performance for sustained fusion energy. “
Ambassador Vale de Almeida spoke alongside the UK Minister for Science, Research and Innovation George Freeman MP.
Press release by the UK Atomic Energy Agency
Recording of the press conference in Culham
Background on the Euratom research and training programme
