China has completed and tested a giant 582-tonne superconducting magnet for its next-generation nuclear fusion project, a development that could strengthen its ambition to become a global leader in future energy technologies. The D-shaped coil measures around 21 metres in length and 12 metres in width and is designed to help contain extremely hot plasma inside an experimental fusion reactor.
The magnet was built by the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei and is the largest fusion reactor magnet ever constructed, according to Forbes.
If successful, fusion energy could provide a virtually limitless source of clean electricity without the long-lived radioactive waste associated with conventional nuclear power plants. Fusion energy remains one of the world’s biggest scientific challenges. Several countries and private companies are racing to develop commercially viable fusion reactors, with many seeing the technology as a potential answer to the growing electricity demands of artificial intelligence data centres and future industries.
China aims to complete the BEST reactor by the end of 2027 and demonstrate fusion-based electricity generation around 2030, according to Forbes.
