According to CTIA GROUP, CCTV News reported that nuclear fusion energy has been written into the national “15th Five-Year Plan” outline and is listed as a key direction for future industries. Its basic principle is the same as the energy source of the Sun, which is why it is called the “artificial Sun.” The “15th Five-Year Plan” period is a strategic key phase for China’s fusion technology to shift comprehensively from scientific experiments to engineering and industrialization. What is the latest progress in the fusion industry?
CCTV reporter Pingfan: At the National Fusion Industry Experimental Platform in Chengdu, Sichuan, the first wall, the core component of the “artificial Sun,” directly faces the extremely high-temperature challenge and particle bombardment of the central plasma like an armor. Its core raw materials include three metals: tungsten, copper, and stainless steel.
The first wall is located on the innermost side of the “artificial Sun” vacuum chamber and is the first line of defense directly facing the high-temperature plasma, equivalent to the “personal armor” of the fusion device. Currently, China has achieved full-process independent research, development, manufacturing, and testing of the first wall. Materials, welding processes, and high-heat-load testing have all reached internationally leading levels, and this is also one of the core breakthroughs for the engineering implementation of China’s controlled fusion.
Engineer Sun Qian from the Southwest Institute of Nuclear Physics: It directly protects the surrounding equipment and has to bear all the heat load from high-energy particles and neutron bombardment. Currently, all materials are independently developed by us, and the entire process has also been independently researched and explored, representing that our technology has already reached a very advanced level globally.
The “China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor” (CFETR), as China’s “new-generation artificial Sun” device, has achieved an ion temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius and an electron temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius, reaching the “double hundred million degrees,” with the fusion comprehensive parameter reaching the 102? level. Currently, the “China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor” is proceeding with a full upgrade according to plan, with the first burning experiment scheduled for 2027.
Researchers told reporters that for nuclear fusion power generation, fusion burning and energy output must be achieved, followed by solving stable operation and engineering reliability issues, and ultimately reducing costs through scale-up and technological iteration.
In addition to the “China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor,” in Hefei, Anhui, another “artificial Sun” project is working toward its next experimental goals and is steadily advancing toward the overall commercialization objective.
