China Leading Nuclear Fusion Progress
Last updated
Last updated
China has made a significant breakthrough in nuclear fusion with its HL-3 tokamak, a device designed to create clean energy by mimicking the sun’s fusion process. Scientists in Hefei heated plasma to 120 million degrees and managed to contain it using a powerful magnetic field, a critical step in sustaining nuclear fusion. Fusion energy, which releases massive amounts of power without increasing CO2 levels, has long been sought as a solution to the global energy crisis.
Although no one yet knows whether fusion power plants are possible, Chinese scientists have ambitious timelines. In the 2030s, before ITER will have begun its main experiments, the country aims to build the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), with the goal of producing up to 1 gigawatt of fusion power.
To accomplish this goal, the government of China has formed a new national industrial consortium focused on the development and advancement of nuclear fusion technology, news outlets have reported.
The consortium China Fusion Energy Inc. is being led by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has been conducting research and development, construction, production, and operation activities regarding nuclear energy, the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear applications, and environmental protection for about 25 years.
