GETTY The Joint European Torus tokamak generator based at the CCFE.

Britain currently leads the world in the development of the technology through the Joint European Torus (JET) based at the Culham Science Centre in Oxfordshire, but there have been fears it would end up playing second fiddle to China, Korea or other international competitors, because of catastrophic underfunding. Britain’s research into nuclear fusion - limitless, safe energy basically from seawater - is the envy of the world and should form the basis of a multi-billion pound export market throughout the 21st century, if we are able to open fusion-based power stations by 2050. It is considered a green energy source with no long-term radioactive waste product. It is also inexhaustible as the hydrogen comes from sea water and lithium. However, JET, our sole research lab receives just £40 million a year in UK public funding, and £60 million annually from the EU. In March Express.co.uk reported on concerns the Chinese, South Koreans and Americans were threatening to take the UK technological know-how and turn it into a massively lucrative major industry, with increased investment, because of the relatively low sums being poured into it over here. Now, it appears the Chinese are starting to take over after breaking a number of records to stabilise plasma. China has set up a high-tech device known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) to carry out experiments to create a stable plasma.

Inside the Large Hadron Collider Tue, October 20, 2015 Pictures of The Large Hadron Collider which is the worlds most powerful particle accelerator held in Geneva, Switzerland. Play slideshow Getty Images 1 of 20 The Large Hadron Collider CMS detecter held in Geneva, Switzerland

This week they claimed to have broken the world fusion record for stabilising plasma. They were able to maintain a stable plasma state for 101.2 seconds, with the temperature peaking at 50,000,000 Kelvins (K) (90,000,000°F or 50,000,000°C). This is more than three times hotter than the core of the sun which is about 15,000,000K (27,000,000°F or 15,000,000°C). China is moving forward with the technology so quickly, that its experts could topple their own previous record. Last year EAST sustained plasma burst for more than a minute. Its goal is a 1,000-second plasma reaction. It will then move to new hardware before attempting a fully functioning fusion reactor. EAST chief operator Gong Xianzu said: "It is a success of joint efforts. "The EAST team has worked together with their collaborators at home and abroad over the past decade to solve a series of key technical and physical issues closely related to the steady-state operation, and carried out in-depth scientific research on integrated operation scenarios with effective coupling of multi-scale physical processes." China is now ploughing more money than any other country into fusion energy research. However, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, which runs the Culham fusion lab, told Express.co.uk, its facility remains the world leader. The authority vowed to keep a commitment to open a power station by 2050.

We are the number one in fusion research in the world, we are genuinely world leading and have skills here that no other laboratory in the world has. Ian Chapman

The statement said: "China and the UK (through the EU) are both contributing to ITER – the international, power-plant scale fusion experiment currently under construction in France. " Advances such as this one on EAST are significant and certainly reflect China’s increasing endeavours in fusion research; but, the European JET device at Culham here in the UK, remains the world leader in preparing for ITER and future power plants. "Longer term, the UK is in pole position to be designing and building the world’s first fusion power stations; we would not wish to see us give up this leading position in the coming years." Proper commercial application of British nuclear fusion would spell the end of the existing dirty and dangerous nuclear fission reactors and could see windfarms torn down.

Nuclear fusion is a staggering technical innovation in which hydrogen from sea water and readily available lithium is heated to more than 150 million°C. Atomic nuclei begin to fuse together releasing huge amounts of energy but without the massive amount of deadly radiation which our existing nuclear fission reactors create. Nuclear fusion is the process which powers the sun. Amazingly the temperatures achieved at the JET reactor in Culham are 10 times hotter than the centre of the sun. In March professor Ian Chapman CEO of the Culham Science Centre said: “We are the number one in fusion research in the world, we are genuinely world leading and have skills here that no other laboratory in the world has.

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