Chinese researchers have once again set a new milestone in nuclear fusion technology, sustaining a fusion reaction at 100 million degrees Celsius for an impressive 1,066 seconds. This achievement, accomplished by the Chinese Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) at the Institute of Plasma Physics, marks a significant improvement over their previous record of 403 seconds, set in April 2023. It highlights China’s growing lead in the global race to harness nuclear fusion for clean and virtually limitless energy.
This achievement comes at a time when nuclear fusion—considered the “holy grail” of clean energy—is gaining attention for its potential to provide a reliable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. While the U.S. has been a pioneer in fusion research since the 1950s, China has quickly accelerated its progress, investing heavily in the technology over the past decade. China now outpaces the U.S. in the number of fusion patents and has become a key player in the industry.
According to industry data, China invests approximately $1.5 billion annually in nuclear fusion research—nearly double the U.S. investment of $800 million. This financial commitment has allowed Chinese researchers to rapidly advance in areas such as device miniaturization and efficiency improvements, which are essential for making nuclear fusion commercially viable. The U.S. Energy Department’s Jean Paul Allain praised China’s quick pace, stating that “what’s more important than the number, it’s actually how fast they’re doing this.”
A particularly notable development is China’s success in achieving significant advances in high-temperature superconducting materials for fusion reactors. This success has allowed smaller fusion reactors, which are easier and quicker to build, to become a reality. Energy Singularity, a Chinese fusion startup, is leading the way in this field. This company has completed the engineering feasibility verification for its Honghuang 70 (HH70) tokamak device, a breakthrough that has taken much less time to achieve compared to the long delays faced by international projects like the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in France.
Founded just two years ago, Energy Singularity’s HH70 tokamak design uses high-temperature superconducting materials to reduce the volume of the device to just 2 percent of the size of traditional low-temperature superconducting devices. This innovation drastically reduces construction time—from decades to just a few years—and is seen as a game-changer in the nuclear fusion sector. In fact, Energy Singularity is now preparing to build its next-generation tokamak, the HH170, which it expects to achieve a deuterium-tritium equivalent energy gain (Q) greater than 10 by 2027. Achieving a Q value of over 1 would mark a major step toward achieving net energy gain from fusion, something the global scientific community has been striving for over the past 70 years.
While Energy Singularity has received about $112 million in private investment, it is important to note the disparity in spending on fusion projects globally. The ITER project, which has been in development since 2006, has cost over $21 billion—more than four times its original budget—and continues to face significant delays. On the other hand, Chinese startups like Energy Singularity have achieved impressive milestones with far less investment, challenging the traditional model of large, government-funded international collaboration.
Despite China’s leadership, it is not the only country making strides in the fusion sector. U.S.-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems, in collaboration with MIT, is working on its own small fusion reactor called Sparc. This device, though much smaller than ITER’s, is designed to generate bursts of heat energy powerful enough to supply a small city, marking a new direction in fusion development.
