https://www.ans.org/news/article-5668/china-launches-fusion-consortium-to-build-artificial-sun/
Tue, Jan 9, 2024, 11:30PM
Nuclear News
The HL-2M tokamak reactor, developed by the CNNC’s Southwestern Institute of Physics. (Photo: CNNC)
The government of China has formed a new national industrial consortium focused on the development and advancement of nuclear fusion technology,
news outlets have reported.
The consortium China Fusion Energy Inc. is being led by the
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which has been conducting research and development, construction, production, and operation activities regarding nuclear energy, the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear applications, and environmental protection for about 25 years
The only direction: China increasingly has been expressing interest in nuclear fusion. The State Council of China recently
declared, “Controlled nuclear fusion is the only direction for future energy, and the field is now developing very rapidly in Europe and the United States. In this context, China’s central government is starting to pay more attention to the industry.”
The Chinese government has set the goal of building the first industrial prototype fusion reactor, which it has dubbed an “artificial sun,” by 2035. Officials hope to begin large-scale commercial production of fusion energy by 2050.