China is aiming for energy self-sufficiency, particularly in nuclear energy.
A New Milestone for China
The state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) announced that it has achieved a significant milestone in its efforts to create an “artificial sun” powered by nuclear fusion (as opposed to fission), according to SCMP.
On Saturday, August 26, CNNC reported that the latest version of its tokamak machine, known as HL-2A, has successfully generated a plasma current exceeding 1 million amperes, or 1 mega-amp, in high confinement mode for the first time.
“This is a significant milestone for China’s development in the field of nuclear fusion, as high-confinement nuclear fusion is one of the three pillars in China’s nuclear energy development strategy,” CNNC stated.
HL-2A generates a plasma current exceeding 1 million amperes, or 1 mega-amp, in high confinement mode. (Image: SCMP)
Scientists hope that this process – generating energy in a manner similar to how the Sun produces heat and light – could offer a safe, clean, and nearly limitless energy source.
Unlike nuclear fission, which is how modern nuclear power plants generate energy, nuclear fusion produces significantly less radioactive waste.
CNNC reported that this device operates in “high confinement mode” (H mode), where the temperature and density of the plasma are significantly increased.
The new reactor has overcome “critical technical challenges” by utilizing a stronger heating system and advanced divertors – thermal extraction devices that help minimize plasma contamination and protect the reactor’s surrounding walls.
According to Chinese media, this device was developed at the Southwest Institute of Physics of CNNC in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. However, this is not the first facility to generate and sustain extremely hot, high-confinement plasma.
In April 2023, the Advanced Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics, set a record by maintaining plasma for nearly 7 minutes – four times longer than the previous record.
Scientists worldwide are striving to develop the “artificial sun” – generating energy by heating hydrogen atoms to over 100 million degrees Celsius and confining them long enough to fuse into heavier atoms, releasing an immense amount of energy.
However, the challenge lies in controlling this process so that the reactor does not explode while replicating the “artificial sun” on Earth.
According to the World Nuclear Association, China is aiming for energy self-sufficiency, with nuclear energy playing a crucial role, and the country has tripled its nuclear power capacity over the past decade.
Research from Tokyo-based Astamuse indicates that China has filed more patents for nuclear fusion technology than any other country or region from 2011 to 2022.
The world’s second-largest economy also aims to build a prototype industrial fusion reactor by 2035 and deploy this technology for large-scale commercial use by 2050.
The Mega Project to Recreate the “Artificial Sun” on Earth
China is one of the seven parties involved in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the world’s largest fusion reactor currently being constructed in Saint-Paul-lès-Durance, France, in collaboration with the European Union (EU), India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.
“Burning” plasma at temperatures ten times that of the Sun’s core is a scientific aspiration for many nations around the world. (Image: ITER).
The ITER project is a mega international initiative aimed at demonstrating, both scientifically and technologically, the feasibility of achieving thermonuclear energy on Earth. Specifically, the goal is to “burn” plasma at temperatures ten times that of the Sun’s core, keeping this “artificial star” burning and generating net energy for several seconds per reaction.
ITER is believed to help humanity realize the dream of a world powered not by fossil fuels but by fusion energy, a process similar to what makes stars shine, Scientific American commented.
However, this mega project is facing a significant issue: budget overruns and prolonged delays. ITER is at risk of becoming the longest delayed and most expensive scientific project in history.
The ITER project officially began in 2006 when international partners agreed to fund an estimated 5 billion euros (then about 6.3 billion USD), with a 10-year plan to bring ITER into operation by 2016.
However, the latest official cost estimate is over 20 billion euros (22 billion USD), with ITER nominally set to be activated just two years from now. In reality, ITER is not only facing further delays of several years but also increasing internal recognition that remaining technical challenges could cause the budget to soar even more. It remains unclear when ITER will be operational.
Nuclear fusion (thermonuclear fusion) is the energy source that keeps the Sun shining, and the ultimate goal of international scientists is to achieve fusion reactions on Earth.
Nuclear fusion combines light atomic nuclei (deuterium and tritium) in a plasma environment into heavier helium elements.
Fusion reactions do not emit carbon dioxide, and their fuel sources can be extracted from seawater in nearly unlimited quantities (lithium is the source of tritium and deuterium).
Fusion energy is expected to provide fundamental solutions to many of the world’s energy and environmental issues.
