China completes major superconducting magnet for fusion project
The 582-tonne component will support the development of the BEST experimental tokamak and China’s long-term fusion research programme
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Photo source: quantic69 / iStock
China has completed and fully tested the world’s largest superconducting magnet for a nuclear fusion research project. Developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei, the D-shaped component weighs 582 tonnes, measures 21 metres in length and 12 metres in width, and was produced using domestically developed technologies, reports El Ciudadano, a partner of TV BRICS.
The magnet was created over six years of research and development. According to Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics, it is the world’s heaviest superconducting magnet and has the highest energy storage capacity among such coils. The component is 1.3 times larger than the magnets used in the international ITER project and has three times their energy storage capacity.
The magnet will be used in the BEST (Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak), which is being built in Hefei. The facility is designed as an intermediate stage between the experimental EAST tokamak and the future China Fusion Engineering Demon Reactor (CFEDR). In 2025, EAST maintained plasma at 100 million degrees for 1,066 seconds, setting a world record.
BEST is designed to conduct experiments with self-sustaining deuterium-tritium burning plasma and target an energy gain of five times the amount invested, or Q=5. Construction is progressing in Hefei, where a 400-tonne foundation for the main unit was installed at the end of 2025.
According to the project roadmap, construction of BEST is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. Subsequent experiments will focus on steady-state operation of burning plasma and are expected to target fusion power output of between 20 and 200 megawatts. China aims to demonstrate electricity generation from nuclear fusion around 2030, followed by plans for a demonstration reactor by 2035 and a commercial reactor after 2040.
The development of fusion energy forms part of China’s strategic research agenda for 2026–2030. The country is also expanding international scientific cooperation in plasma research, with researchers from more than 10 countries participating in collaborative programmes. According to Song Yuntao, the completion of the new magnet marks progress towards a new stage of burning-plasma research and the further development of fusion engineering.
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