Major nuclear fusion milestones for the French West reactor

In a significant milestone, scientists have achieved a new record in generating and sustaining extremely hot plasma, which is vital for nuclear fusion. This breakthrough was accomplished using the advanced WEST tokamak reactor in France. On 12 February 2025, WEST maintained plasma at 50 million degrees Celsius for 1,337 seconds (22 minutes and 17 seconds), beating the previous record of 1,066 seconds set by China’s EAST tokamak. This breakthrough is a major step forward in making nuclear fusion a viable clean energy source. Unlike nuclear fission, fusion does not produce long-lived radioactive waste. The ITER project under construction in France will be based on this technology. WEST’s achievement demonstrates growing expertise in plasma control, and future goals include extending plasma durations to hours and achieving fusion temperatures. This progress is an important step towards realising the potential of fusion energy on Earth.