Nuclear fusion could transform our world

Piercing the gloom surrounding the shift to non-carbon energy sources and the transitional costs involved is a glimmer of light. We have seen it before, but it has invariably been snuffed out. It is nuclear fusion, the Holy Grail of power generation, the same process that fuels the sun and other stars.

Scientists have been trying for 50 years to replicate the intense heat required to bring about the molecular reaction necessary for fusion. There was a moment when two researchers claimed they had discovered cold fusion, which would have solved the world’s energy problems overnight, but it was not to be.

While the prospect of achieving fusion has always been at least 30 years away, there have been indications recently that serious advances are now being made. The Jet laboratory, near…