China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor has set a new world record by maintaining high-confinement plasma for 1,066 seconds. Achieved on January 20, this milestone is seen as a significant step toward advancing fusion energy as a clean and unlimited energy source.
The EAST project aims to mimic the Sun's nuclear fusion process to provide humanity with an inexhaustible, clean energy source, with potential applications for space exploration beyond the Solar System.
Scientists worldwide have been working on this ambitious goal for over 70 years, but generating electricity from a nuclear fusion device requires overcoming major challenges, such as reaching temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius, ensuring stable and long-term operation, and precisely controlling the fusion process.
Technological Developments Leading to the Record The EAST project, led by the Hefei Institute of Physical Science (HFIPS) Plasma Physics Institute (ASIPP), previously set a fusion record in 2023 with 403 seconds of fusion. However, the new record more than triples that duration, marking a major leap in fusion research.
Song Yuntao, Director of ASIPP and Vice President of HFIPS, stated, "A fusion device needs to operate stably and efficiently for thousands of seconds to produce continuous energy. This new record is a major step toward our goal of building a functional fusion reactor."
Gong Xianzu, Head of EAST's Physics and Experimental Operations Department, noted that several system improvements had been made since previous experiments. Particularly, the heating system, which operates with the power equivalent to 70,000 household microwave ovens, doubled its output while maintaining stability and continuity with new updates.
Supporting International Fusion Research Established in 2006, EAST serves as an open test platform for Chinese and international scientists to conduct fusion experiments.
In 2006, China became the seventh member of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program. Under this agreement, China holds a 9% stake in ITER's construction and operation, with ASIPP serving as the main Chinese institution for the project.
Being built in southern France, ITER will become the world's largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment and the largest experimental tokamak fusion reactor once completed.
In recent years, EAST has made significant progress in high-confinement mode, which is critical for projects like ITER and the future China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). These successes provide valuable scientific data for the development of global fusion reactors.
In Hefei, Anhui Province, where EAST is located, new next-generation experimental fusion research facilities are being built to accelerate the development and application of fusion energy.
Song Yuntao, Director of ASIPP, stated, "We hope to expand international cooperation through EAST and turn fusion energy into a practical power source for humanity."
