Dr Ratu Mataira: Kiwi physicist joins the nuclear fusion race

Physicist Dr Ratu Mataira is on a mission to harness the power of the sun.

The 31 year old leads OpenStar Technologies, a Wellington based start-up building a 'levitated dipole' fusion reactor prototype.

Fusion is the process that happens inside the sun and other stars, when hydrogen atoms "fuse" to make helium, releasing tremendous amounts of energy.

Recreating the process here on earth is viewed as the  "holy grail" of energy, with the potential to create vast amounts of emissions-free electricity.