US scientists achieve net energy gain for second time in a fusion reaction

US scientists have achieved net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the second time since December last year, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory said on Sunday.

Scientists at the California-based lab repeated the breakthrough in an experiment in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on 30 July that produced a higher energy yield than in December, a Lawrence Livermore spokesperson said.

Final results are still being analyzed, the spokesperson added.

Lawrence Livermore achieved a net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers on 5 December 2022. The scientists focused a laser on a target of fuel to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing the energy.