US scientists have made a breakthrough in the pursuit of ‘clean energy’ by replicating the nuclear fusion reaction powering the sun for the first time.

On Tuesday, the US Energy Department is set to announce that scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have successfully produced a ‘net energy gain’ in a nuclear fusion reaction for the first time.

This is the same nuclear reaction that keeps the sun burning. Replicating it would be a major step towards producing limitless and carbon-free energy, as reported by the Financial Times and The Washington Post on Sunday.

The pursuit to recreate the nuclear fusion reaction that powers the sun has been on since the 1950s but with little success.

No one had been able to achieve ‘net energy gain’ where more energy is produced from the reaction than consumed. The process could provide an alternative to fossil fuels and conventional nuclear energy.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is scheduled to unveil a ‘major scientific breakthrough’ at the Lawrence Livermore lab on Tuesday but the Energy Department has not given any hints about the subject of the announcement. 

‘Initial diagnostic data suggests another successful experiment at the National Ignition Facility,’ where the fusion research is taking place, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory told the Financial Times.

‘However, the exact yield is still being determined and we can’t confirm that it is over the threshold at this time.’

The fusion reaction has reportedly produced about 120 per cent of the energy it consumed but the results are still being analyzed and no findings will be released until Tuesday, as reported by the Washington Post.

‘The breakthrough was already being widely discussed by scientists,’ said the Financial Times said, citing two people familiar with the findings who also said the greater-than-expected energy output had damaged some of the diagnostic equipment.

How does it work?

The Lawrence Livermore lab studies a form of fusion called inertial confinement fusion, which involves hitting a tiny ball of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser.

Fusion reactions emit no carbon, produce no lingering radioactive waste and a small cup of the hydrogen fuel could theoretically power a house for hundreds of years.

The lab has reportedly achieved ‘net energy gain’ in a fusion experiment in the past two weeks, according to reports.

The breakthrough at a time when the world grapples with high energy prices and the need to rapidly move away from burning fossil fuels to combat global warming.

Last year, Chinese scientists built an ‘artificial sun’ that hit a record 160 million°C. That’s ten times hotter than the giant ball of fire in the sky.

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