TEMPERATURES hotter than the centre of the sun have been generated at an Oxford science campus.

Tokamak Energy, based in Culham Science Campus and Milton Park, said its prototype reaching 15million degrees Celsius was a ‘key milestone’ in its plan to develop energy from fusion power.

Using a technique called ‘merging compression’, the company’s St40 device heated plasma to achieve the extreme temperatures, but it has to go hotter still in order for the company to be able to generate power from fusion reactions.

CEO Jonathan Carling said: "Reaching 15 million degrees is yet another indicator of the progress at Tokamak Energy.

"Our aim is to make fusion energy a commercial reality by 2030.

"We view the journey as a series of engineering challenges, raising additional investment on reaching each new milestone."