In future, nuclear fusion could play an important part in energy generation. However, it will be some time before the first nuclear fusion power plant is connected to the grid. Experts believe that this could happen around 2050. Until then it is hoped that researchers will have overcome the problems with which they are currently struggling – starting with a controlled fusion reaction.
After more than 60 years of nuclear fusion research, it is expected that nuclear power plants based on fusion will, in terms of their external appearance, be very similar to nuclear (fission) power plants. The electricity generation will take place in the same way: a cooling liquid is heated and evaporates, and the thermal energy is converted into electrical energy using a turbine. However, atomic nuclei are not split but fused together in the heart of the reactor.
