China is looking for alterative sources of energy and have gambled on a new form of nuclear power. China has invested a whopping $1.4 billion for a 10% stake in the research project the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

The project aims to unlock the secrets of nuclear fusion, a potentially boundless, clean and cheap form of energy. Alongside China, the US, EU, Japan, India, South Korea and Russia have also invested money in the project. Artificial fusion has been achieved in the past, however it has yet to be controlled fully.

Currently, nuclear power plants use nuclear fission which splits atoms. Nuclear fusion, as the name suggests, fuses smaller nuclei into larger ones, a process which creates huge quantities of light and heat – our sun and other stars are a good example of things that use nuclear fusion. If scientists can control this fusion process, it will produce longer lasting nuclear fuel that nuclear fission with the added bonus of less nuclear waste.

Should the project reach it’s aims, it could be an excellent thing for the environment. China is one of the world’s biggest polluters and with people around the globe worried about carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear fusion could be the answer – by using fusion as an alternative to coal power plants, it would satisfy China’s growing demand for energy whilst also reducing their carbon emissions.

Popularity: 22% [?]