Energy Department announces nuclear fusion breakthrough

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday announced a breakthrough in nuclear fusion after she said scientists recreated "certain conditions that are only found in the stars and sun."

She said if fusion energy advances, it can be used to create "clean electricity, transportation fuels, power, heavy industry and so much more," CNN reported.

Since the 1950s, scientists have researched fusion.

"To most of us, this was only a matter of time," a senior fusion scientist told The Washington Post on Monday.