China has marked a major milestone in its quest for commercial nuclear fusion by completing and testing a 582-ton superconducting magnet for its next-generation "Artificial Sun" programme. According to Xinhua News Agency, the 21-metre-long toroidal-field magnet is the largest of its kind ever built for a controlled fusion reactor.
Developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hefei, the giant magnet is designed to confine plasma heated to more than 100 million degrees Celsius — around six times hotter than the Sun's core. The breakthrough supports China's long-term ambition of generating electricity from controlled nuclear fusion by around 2030.
