Archive · 30 Jul 2026
China Completes Largest Fusion Magnet, Aiming for 2030 Power
China has just finished a huge magnet that will help create a tiny, super‑hot sun inside a machine.
The magnet is 21 metres long and weighs as much as 582 tonnes, about the weight of a Boeing 747.
It keeps the super‑hot gas, called plasma, from touching the walls of the reactor by using a powerful invisible magnetic field.
The plasma will reach temperatures about 10 times hotter than the Sun’s core, but the magnet itself must stay almost at absolute zero, around –269 °C.
Engineers built it so it can keep working for 60 years, carrying huge electric currents with almost no energy loss.
The whole project uses only Chinese-made parts, and China plans to build a full fusion power plant by 2030, which could give clean electricity without carbon emissions.
China has built the world’s largest superconducting fusion magnet, 21 m long, 12 m wide, weighing 582 tonnes.
The magnet will trap plasma at ~100–150 million °C, 10× hotter than the Sun’s core, while remaining at –269 °C.
It is engineered to operate reliably for 60 years, carrying over 100,000 amps with negligible resistance.
The project uses entirely domestic materials and manufacturing, producing 47 patents and 25 industry standards.
China’s roadmap targets a first fusion power plant by 2030, following the 2027 completion of its Burning Plasma Experimental Tokamak.
- Who
- Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- What
- Built the world’s largest superconducting fusion magnet
- When
- Recently completed in 2024
- Where
- Beijing, China
- Why
- To advance fusion power as a clean, limitless energy source
- Magnet size
- 21 m long, 12 m wide
- Weight
- 582 tonnes
- Plasma temperature
- ≈100–150 million °C
- Operating lifespan
- 60 years
- Current capacity
- ≈100,000 amps
- Domestic tech
- 100% domestic materials
- Roadmap milestone
- First fusion power plant by 2030
