Aurélien Beaujean

France just beat the world record for nuclear fusion. In a breakthrough for clean energy pursuits, a nuclear fusion reactor in France has achieved a world-record burn at an astonishing 90 million degrees Fahrenheit (50 million °C) – sustained for over 22 minutes. On February 12, 2025, the WEST tokamak held a hydrogen plasma steady for 1,337 seconds, shattering the prior mark set mere weeks before by China's EAST. That's triple the scorching heat of the Sun's core and a full four minutes beyond the previous duration benchmark. Though it didn't produce net energy, this feat highlights our advancing ability to mimic the stellar process that fuels the cosmos. At its heart, fusion harnesses the power of stars by smashing light atoms like hydrogen into helium, unleashing vast energy in the bargain. In the Sun, this thrives amid crushing gravity and 27 million °F (15 million °C) infernos. Earthbound engineers, lacking such natural compression, rely on devices like WEST to superheat plasma to extreme levels – far beyond solar extremes – while using potent magnetic fields to corral it. The real hurdle? Preventing the setup from self-destructing under those brutal conditions. WEST's triumph proves we can now stabilize such blistering plasmas for unprecedented stretches, a vital step toward the nearby ITER project, the globe's most ambitious fusion endeavor currently taking shape. Should ITER and its ilk succeed, fusion promises boundless, eco-friendly power: zero carbon footprint, no meltdown dangers, and minimal long-lived waste. ["French WEST reactor breaks record in nuclear fusion." Advanced Science News, 2025]