China’s Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HIPS) has said it has achieved “a significant scientific milestone” in the development of fusion energy after maintaining a steady-state high-confinement plasma operation for 1,066 seconds.
The feat took place at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which is often referred to as China’s ‘artificial Sun’.
“A fusion device must achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds to enable the self-sustaining circulation of plasma, which is essential for the continuous power generation of future fusion plants,” said Yuntao Song, the director of the Institute of Plasma Physics at HIPS.
The breakthrough significantly surpasses the previous world record of 403 seconds, which was also established by EAST in 2023.
Fusion is a potential source of almost limitless clean energy that lacks many of the downsides associated with traditional nuclear fission, such as waste storage problems. It uses the same process that...