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Nuclear fusion has been described as the 'holy grail' of energy, a source of power that could solve the world's impending fuel crisis.

Now we may be a step closer to achieving it after Lockheed Martin announced a 'breakthrough' in developing a power source based on the technology.

The Maryland-based company said the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.

Neutrons released from plasma (seen here in purple) will transfer heat through reactor walls to drive a turbine. Lockheed Martin claims reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be in use in a decade

Nuclear fission breaks a single atom into two, while nuclear fusion combines two atoms into one. The latter process creates three to four times as much energy as fission. 

Tom McGuire, who heads the project, said he and a small team had been working on fusion energy at Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works for about four years,

They are now going public to find potential partners in industry and government for their work.

Initial work demonstrated the feasibility of building a 100-megawatt reactor measuring 7ft (2.1 metres) by 10ft (3 metres), which could fit on the back of a large truck.

Nuclear fusion has been described as the 'holy grail' of energy. Now we may be a step closer to achieving it after Lockheed Martin announced a 'breakthrough' in developing a power source based on the technology. Pictured is a fusion expert at Lockheed Martin

This is about 10 times smaller than current reactors, Mr McGuire told reporters at a recent press conference.

Fusion works by using two kinds of hydrogen atoms — deuterium and tritium — and injecting that gas into a containment vessel.

Scientist then add energy that removes the electrons from their host atoms, forming what is described as an ion plasma. 

The key to Lockheed's system is their tube-like design, which allows them to get around one of the limitations of traditional fusion reactor designs, that are limited by the amount plasma they can hold.

Lockheed has found a way to constrain the plasma, using what is called a compact fusion reactor (CFR) with a specifically shaped magnetic field inside.

When the plasma tries to expand the magnetic field fights back to contain it. In effect, this means the plasma works to contain itself.

The company, the Pentagon's largest supplier, said it would build and test a compact fusion reactor in less than a year, and build a prototype in five years.

In recent years, Lockheed has become increasingly involved in a variety of alternate energy projects, including several ocean energy projects, as it looks to offset a decline in U.S. and European military spending.

Lockheed's work on fusion energy could help in developing new power sources amid increasing global conflicts over energy, and as projections show there will be a 40 per cent to 50 per cent increase in energy use over the next generation, Mr McGuire said.

ZERO-EMISSION FUSION REACTOR CLAIMS TO BE CHEAPER THAN COAL

Engineers have designed a a fusion reactor which, when scaled up, would rival costs for a new coal-fired plant with similar electrical output

A fuel with no greenhouse emissions or radioactive waste that is almost unlimited, sounds too good to be true.

But scientists have taken one more step to make fusion power useful and affordable.

Engineers have designed a concept for a fusion reactor which, when scaled up to the size of a large electrical power plant, would rival costs for a new coal-fired plant with similar electrical output.

Fusion, the process that powers the sun and other stars, entails forging the nuclei of atoms to release energy, as opposed to splitting them, which is fission - the principle behind the atomic bomb and nuclear power.

Engineers from the University of Washington have published their design and analysis findings and will present them at the International Atomic Energy Agency's Fusion Energy Conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, this week.

The design builds on existing technology and creates a magnetic field within a closed space to hold plasma in place long enough for fusion to occur - allowing the hot plasma to react and burn.

The reactor itself would be largely self-sustaining, meaning it would continuously heat the plasma to maintain thermonuclear conditions.

Heat generated from the reactor would heat up a coolant that is used to spin a turbine and generate electricity, similar to how a typical power reactor works. 

'Right now, this design has the greatest potential of producing economical fusion power of any current concept,' said Thomas Jarboe, a professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the university.

If it proves feasible, Lockheed's work would mark a key breakthrough in a field that scientists have long eyed as promising, but which has not yet yielded viable power systems. 

The effort seeks to harness the energy released during nuclear fusion, when atoms combine into more stable forms.

'We can make a big difference on the energy front,' Mr McGuire added, noting Lockheed's 60 years of research on nuclear fusion as a potential energy source. 

Compact nuclear fusion would produce far less waste than coal-powered plants since it would use deuterium-tritium fuel, which can generate nearly 10 million times more energy than the same amount of fossil fuels, the company said.

Pictured are the magnetic coils inside the compact fusion experiment by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed said it had shown it could complete a design, buildand test it in as little as a year, which should produce anoperational reactor in 10 years

Ultra-dense deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, is found in the Earth's oceans, and tritium is made from natural lithium deposits.

It said future reactors could use a different fuel and eliminate radioactive waste completely.

Mr McGuire said the company had several patents pending for the work and was looking for partners in academia, industry and among government laboratories to advance the work.

Lockheed said it had shown it could complete a design, build and test it in as little as a year, which should produce an operational reactor in 10 years.

A small reactor could power a U.S. Navy warship, and eliminate the need for other fuel sources that pose logistical challenges.

U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers run on nuclear power, but they have large fission reactors on board that have to be replaced on a regular cycle.

'What makes our project really interesting and feasible is that timeline as a potential solution,' Mr McGuire added.

Nuclear fission breaks one atom into two, while nuclear fusion combines two atoms into one. The latter process creates four times as much energy as fission. Pictured is a computer model of a fusion reactor

However, there was some skepticism over the viability of the design. Dr Joel Gilmore is Principal - Renewable Energy & Climate Policy at Roam Consulting said: 

'Certainly, I'd welcome fusion as part of the world's energy mix, but this announcement is a long way from a working prototype, let alone a commercially viable power generator.

'Fusion requires incredibly high temperatures and pressures, which is challenging, and a lot of people have been working on fusion for a long time. So I won't get too excited yet.'

Professor Roger Dargaville is a research fellow and leader of the MEI Energy Futures Group at the University of Melbourne said the technology was necessary to avoid dangerous climate change.

'Nuclear energy is low carbon, and will be an important part of the electricity generation fleet in various countries around the world where other low carbon alternatives are not viable,' he said.

'The potential for the use of fusion reactors over fission is exciting news as the dangerous by-products of fission reactors are a major disadvantage of the technology.'