Energy consumption per capita is closely linked to quality of life. As such, the demand for power has shaped much of the innovation, politics and conflict of the previous century. With consumption expected to triple by 2050 and concerns mounting about continued carbon dioxide emissions, scalable and sustainable power is more needed than ever.

Nuclear fusion has long been hailed as the ‘holy grail’ of clean energy. In principle, it could power the world for billions of years without any of the drawbacks associated with nuclear fission (such as long-lived radioactive waste, reactor meltdowns and weapons proliferation). However, the physics and engineering challenges involved are formidable. In this talk we will discuss the history of fusion research, the myriad of proposed solutions and the technical challenges that remain.

James is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford, cosponsored by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Previously he completed an MSci and BA in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and has conducted research in plasma physics at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Greifswald, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Imperial College London. Current research interests include transport in ‘burning’ magnetically confined plasmas, magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and magnetic reconnection thrusters.