Physics World Focus on Nuclear Energy 2016

For decades physicists have dreamed of using fusion to generate electricity, and with construction under way on the ITER fusion tokamak in France, that vision is getting closer. But is ITER the way forward? Several private firms are developing small-scale fusion technology, while in Germany a novel stellarator device has started up. Fission is a much more mature technology and while new, safer reactors are coming online, there are other, more ambitious reactor designs in the pipeline that could vastly reduce the amount of nuclear waste. Both fission and fusion face challenges but offer a carbon-free way of generating electricity that could help to tackle climate change.

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