China has made a major advancement in the pursuit of clean energy through a groundbreaking nuclear fusion experiment. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), also known as China’s “artificial sun,” successfully sustained plasma for a record 1,000 seconds—over 17 minutes—surpassing the previous record of 403 seconds set in 2023.
Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun, has been considered the “holy grail” of energy production. Unlike nuclear fission, fusion merges atomic nuclei to generate vast amounts of energy without greenhouse gas emissions and with a reduced risk of accidents. However, achieving long-term stability and temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius has been a major challenge for researchers.
By stabilizing plasma for over 17 minutes, Chinese scientists believe they have reached a pivotal milestone in fusion technology development. Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, stressed the importance of this achievement, highlighting that a fusion reactor must maintain stable, high-efficiency operation for thousands of seconds to enable continuous power generation.
Though the EAST reactor has not yet reached “ignition”—the point at which fusion generates enough energy to sustain itself—the recent success demonstrates significant progress in plasma stability, which is crucial for future fusion reactors. EAST, which has been operational since 2006, has undergone many tests, with this latest achievement fueling optimism for the future of fusion energy.
China is also building new experimental fusion research facilities in Anhui Province to further advance fusion technology. The potential of nuclear fusion as a nearly unlimited, clean energy source has garnered global attention, and if perfected, it could help solve the energy crisis, reduce fossil fuel reliance, and power future space exploration.
Scientists and engineers remain hopeful that fusion energy will play a key role in the future of global energy production.
