Japan Sets New Nuclear Fusion Record: The largest tokamak in the world to achieve “first plasma” is currently Japan’s JT-60SA. A significant step towards the building of a tokamak, the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology declared on October 23 that it had achieved “first plasma” at the JT-60SA, i.e., the device was utilised to generate and contain a super-hot plasma for the first time.
Stairing block: The JT-60SA, standing at 52 feet tall, is now the largest tokamak in the world to reach first plasma, although this distinction is unlikely to last for long. The JT-60SA tokamak is being constructed to support ITER, a twice-as-tall tokamak that is now under development.
Its anticipated December 2025 first plasma achievement will make that device the largest nuclear fusion device to ignite. It is hoped that ITER will be the instrument that ultimately establishes the viability of commercial fusion power, ushering in a new era in clean energy, even if fusion programmes rarely go exactly as anticipated.
