BBC News
By Paul Rincon
Published
image captionArtwork: Mast Upgrade has been testing an innovative design
Initial results from a UK experiment could help clear a hurdle to achieving commercial power based on nuclear fusion, experts say.
The researchers believe they now have a way to remove the excess heat produced by fusion reactions.
This intense heat can melt materials used inside a reactor, limiting the amount of time it can operate for.
The system, which has been likened to a car exhaust, resulted in a tenfold reduction in the heat.
The tests were carried out at the Mast (Mega Amp Spherical Tokamak) Upgrade nuclear fusion experiment at Culham in Oxfordshire. The £55m device began operating in October last year, after a seven-year build.