China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ Reactor Passes Halfway Mark as Fusion Power Target Nears

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China has completed more than half of the main reactor assembly for its Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST), a major nuclear fusion project in Hefei, Anhui Province. The facility aims to demonstrate that fusion can generate usable electricity, with power demonstrations targeted for around 2030.

The project has entered a critical construction phase following the handover of its dedicated campus, bringing China closer to testing fusion technology at a scale beyond laboratory experiments.

Construction teams expect to complete the overall facility by the end of 2027. Engineers are now working on the reactor core, including the installation of precision instruments and sensors inside its vacuum vessel.

BEST uses powerful superconducting magnets to confine extremely hot plasma within a vacuum chamber. A thermal shield surrounds the vessel to reduce heat loss, helping maintain the conditions required for fusion reactions.

China's flagship nuclear fusion project reached a significant milestone ahead of the country's National Day holiday which begins on Oct 1, with the completion of the main complex for the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) facility in Hefei of east China's… pic.twitter.com/KvastnYw0w

— CCTV+ (@CCTV_Plus) October 1, 2026

The project builds on results from China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), often called the country’s artificial sun. In January 2025, EAST sustained plasma at approximately 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, setting a major milestone in long-duration plasma operation.

Nuclear fusion releases energy by combining light atomic nuclei under extreme temperatures and pressure. Unlike conventional nuclear fission, fusion does not carry the same risk of a runaway chain reaction, although reactor materials can still become radioactive and managing neutron damage remains a significant engineering challenge.

China is also pursuing fusion through private companies. Clean energy firm ENN Group recently reported that its EXL-50U spherical device produced more than 100 million fusion reactions per second.

The company is investigating hydrogen-boron-11 fusion, an alternative to the deuterium-tritium fuel combination favored by many major projects. Hydrogen-boron fusion could reduce neutron-related damage, although achieving the extreme conditions required to make the reaction commercially viable remains difficult.

Together, these efforts reflect China’s strategy of advancing state-backed research alongside private-sector experimentation. However, significant scientific and engineering hurdles remain before fusion plants can reliably deliver electricity to the grid.

If BEST meets its targets, it could provide an important step toward commercial fusion energy, although demonstrating sustained net energy production and practical electricity generation will remain essential milestones.