It is a joint project between the European Union and Japan, and is the precursor to its bigger brother, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), under construction in France.
The ultimate aim of both projects is to coax hydrogen nuclei to fuse into a heavier element, helium, releasing energy in the form of light and heat and mimicking the process that occurs inside the Sun.
Researchers at ITER, which is over budget, behind schedule and facing major technical problems, hope to achieve the Holy Grail of nuclear fusion technology, pure energy.
JT-60SA deputy project leader Sam Davis said the device would “bring us closer to fusion energy”.
“It is the result of a collaboration between more than 500 scientists and engineers and more than 70 companies across Europe and Japan,” Davis said at Friday’s opening ceremony.