Scientists and engineers have worked for more than 60 years to achieve sustainable nuclear fusion within tokamaks, with only limited success. ... The method developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is one of a few ways of achieving nuclear fusion without using a tokamak.

Has nuclear fusion been done?

Nuclear fusion and plasma physics research are carried out in more than 50 countries, and fusion reactions have been successfully achieved in many experiments, albeit without demonstrating a net fusion power gain.

Are we close to fusion energy?

While this may have been true in the past, modern research has propelled us 20 years closer. In 2019 British researchers aimed to make fusion a reality by 2040, this year they say it will happen by 2030. While fusion may not be a certainty at the moment, many scientists believe it is worth the investment.