China has set a new global benchmark in high-field magnet technology after researchers successfully developed an all-superconducting user magnet capable of generating a central magnetic field of 35.6 teslas, more than 700,000 times stronger than Earth’s natural magnetic field.
The achievement, reported by Xinhua, establishes a new world record for all-superconducting user magnets and marks a major advance in China’s high-temperature superconducting capabilities. The magnet is expected to provide critical support for frontier research in materials science, life sciences, and nuclear fusion, according to the Chinese outlet The Global Times.
The system uses a high-temperature superconducting insert magnet as its core and maintains a bore diameter of 35 millimeters. It first reached 30 teslas in 2023 and has since been open to domestic and international researchers. Through continuous improvements in materials, structural design, and manufacturing processes, the research team has now pushed the maximum field strength to 35.6 teslas without reducing the bore size.
With this upgrade, the magnet has become the world’s only all-superconducting user magnet capable of sustaining magnetic fields above 30 teslas for materials research, significantly strengthening China’s position in strong-magnetic-field science.
All-superconducting magnets exploit the zero-resistance properties of superconductors, allowing them to generate extremely strong magnetic fields with high stability and low energy consumption. According to Luo Jianlin, a researcher at the Institute of Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the system can maintain its peak magnetic field continuously for more than 200 hours and integrate seamlessly with extreme experimental conditions such as ultra-low temperatures and ultra-high pressures. This enables a wide range of measurements, including nuclear magnetic resonance, specific heat studies, and magnetostriction experiments.
The magnet is installed at the Comprehensive Research Facility for Extreme Conditions in Huairou Science City, Beijing, a major national scientific infrastructure that passed official acceptance in February 2025. The facility combines ultra-low temperatures, strong magnetic fields, ultra-high pressure, and ultrafast optical fields, allowing coordinated experiments across multiple extremes. The new 35.6-tesla magnet will operate alongside other platforms at the site to support research into the microscopic behavior of matter.
The magnet was designed and manufactured by the Institute of Electrical Engineering under CAS, while the Institute of Physics addressed key challenges such as long-term operational reliability and system health monitoring. Beyond fundamental science, researchers note that all-superconducting magnets have broad application potential in advanced scientific instruments, high-end medical equipment, energy systems, and transportation technologies.
The research team says further upgrades are already planned, with the goal of developing next-generation all-superconducting user magnets capable of achieving even higher magnetic field strengths.
