On November 24, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) launched an international science program for research on burning plasma and released its research plan for the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST), also known as an "artificial sun." BEST, a compact fusion experiment device under construction in Hefei, Anhui Province, is designed to demonstrate actual "burning" of deuterium-tritium plasma, a fuel mixture composed of two isotopes of hydrogen.
With the core objective of achieving power generation through controlled compact nuclear fusion, the construction of BEST is planned to be completed by 2027, after which a commercial nuclear fusion power plant will be built by 2050. At that time, China will completely revamp its energy mix and offer the technology as a Chinese solution for global sustainable development.
Currently, the main energy source for human activity remains fossil fuels, and although clean energy technologies are becoming increasingly mature, they are still greatly influenced by natural conditions. The artificial sun, however, uses deuterium, which can be extracted from seawater with reserves sufficient for hundreds of millions of years, and tritium, which can be produced from lithium. These raw materials are safe. In addition, the product of the fusion reaction is helium, which generates no carbon emissions and no radioactive waste. Fusion energy, often hailed as the ideal "ultimate energy source," is the end point of China's current clean power and carbon neutrality goals.
China has made breakthroughs in the research of artificial sun technology. In March this year, an experiment conducted by the CAS achieved a remarkable fusion power generation milestone by maintaining steady-state high-confinement plasma operation for an impressive 1,066 seconds, setting a new world record. Current technologies allow for the extraction of approximately 0.035 grams of deuterium from each liter of seawater, and the energy released through fusion reactions of this amount of deuterium is equivalent to burning 300 liters of gasoline. Once the artificial sun achieves stable operation, it will provide humanity with a virtually inexhaustible energy source. This will ensure the stability and reliability of energy supply, completely breaking the restrictions of energy scarcity, achieving energy self-sufficiency and fundamentally solving the energy crisis. If all countries can obtain sufficient energy from an artificial sun, energy scarcity will no longer be a cause for conflict.
In the coming years, China's artificial sun program will transition from experimentation to demonstration, and from scientific verification to engineering implementation. To accelerate this process, China is making efforts in policy guidance, international cooperation and institutional innovation, and has built an ecosystem that supports the engineering and industrialization of fusion energy. The program is expected to create a market worth nearly 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) over the next five years.
In addition to China, the United States, the European Union, Japan and Russia are also conducting research on artificial suns. China's plan is currently at the forefront globally and provides technical reference for similar programs.
During the launch of the international science program, which took place in Hefei, scientists from more than 10 countries, including China, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, jointly signed the Hefei Fusion Declaration, calling for open sharing and mutually beneficial cooperation and encouraging researchers in the fusion field to come to China for work, partnerships and research. Against the backdrop of numerous complex challenges facing global scientific cooperation, the declaration aims to transcend boundaries and collaboratively break through the frontiers of basic science for the benefit of all humankind. BR
Copyedited by G.P. Wilson
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