But unlike fission, this radioactive waste is short-lived, quickly decaying to undetectable levels. It involves smashing hydrogen atoms together under extraordinary temperature and pressure, fusing them together to form helium atoms and releasing a large amount of energy and radioactive waste.
Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers the Sun.
These existing plants all rely on nuclear fission - a chain reaction where uranium atoms are split to release extraordinary amounts of energy and, unfortunately, high levels of radioactive waste.īut a different type of nuclear reaction - nuclear fusion - has been the focus of research to develop nuclear power without the radioactive waste problem. More than 10 per cent of the world's electricity currently comes from nuclear power plants. But how close are we to having nuclear plants that fit the clean, green bill? What are the different technologies and what do they offer? Clean, cheap nuclear energy is often touted as a means to battle climate change.
