China Unveils World's Largest Superconducting Magnet in Race for Fusion Power

China has taken a major step toward developing its first commercial fusion reactor by completing tests of the world's largest superconducting magnet. Weighing 582 tonnes, the device is designed to confine plasma at temperatures exceeding 100 million°C – conditions that replicate the processes taking place inside stars. The achievement brings China closer to its goal of demonstrating practical fusion power by 2030 while intensifying global competition in the race for virtually limitless clean energy.

Photo: Pravda.Ru by Marina Lebedeva is licensed under Free for commercial use

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A Record-Breaking Magnet Designed to Contain Stellar Temperatures

Built as part of the CRAFT project, the new toroidal superconducting magnet measures 21 meters in length. Its primary role is to generate an extremely powerful magnetic field capable of stabilizing superheated plasma and keeping it suspended at the center of a fusion reactor without allowing it to touch the reactor walls. Any contact between plasma and the vessel would instantly destroy conventional materials because temperatures inside a tokamak exceed 100 million°C.

Chinese engineers report that the new system stores roughly three times more energy than the magnetic systems developed for the international ITER project while offering a magnetic volume approximately 1.3 times larger. China also achieved full domestic production of the system, manufacturing every key component-including specialized steel and superconducting materials-within the country.

"Working at these scales and temperatures demands extraordinary precision in materials science. Developing superconductors that retain their properties under such extreme conditions effectively solves around 80 percent of the engineering challenges associated with fusion energy," physicist Dmitry Lapshin said in an interview with Pravda.Ru.

China Accelerates Its Fusion Energy Program

The next phase of the CRAFT program will focus on assembling the complete experimental reactor. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2027, with the first demonstration of practical fusion power expected around 2030.

China occupies a unique position in global fusion research. While remaining one of the seven principal partners in the international ITER program, Beijing is simultaneously developing its own independent projects, including EAST, CRAFT, BEST, and CFETR. Since joining ITER in 2007, China has manufactured 18 critical systems for the international reactor and incorporated the technological expertise gained into its domestic fusion industry.

Observers attribute China's faster progress largely to centralized project management and funding. Unlike ITER, which coordinates contributions from multiple governments, the CRAFT project receives direct state financing estimated at approximately 6.3 billion yuan, allowing engineering decisions to move forward more rapidly. As a result, China's fusion program is widely considered to be progressing five to seven years ahead of the international schedule.

While ITER aims to demonstrate a net energy gain from fusion reactions, China's BEST and CFETR projects focus on developing reactors capable of generating electricity for the power grid while producing their own tritium fuel.

Russia Remains a Key Contributor to Global Fusion Research

Modern fusion research continues to build upon the tokamak concept originally developed by Soviet scientists. Today, Russia remains one of ITER's major technological contributors, supplying approximately 9.1 percent of the project's in-kind contributions. In June 2026, the Kurchatov Institute and ITER signed a new cooperation agreement to continue their collaboration.

Russian research institutes-including the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, NIIEFA, and VNIINM-are developing 25 highly specialized systems for ITER. These include high-power gyrotrons manufactured by Gikom for plasma heating, advanced niobium-tin superconducting conductors, and a massive 200-ton magnetic coil produced by the Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard that has already been installed at the reactor site in France.

Russian scientists are also working on advanced tungsten-based materials for the reactor's first wall following ITER's transition away from beryllium. These ultra-high-temperature materials are expected to improve durability under the extreme conditions generated during sustained fusion reactions.

The development of commercial fusion power demands breakthroughs across plasma physics, superconductivity, electromagnetism, and advanced materials science. As countries compete to build increasingly powerful magnetic confinement systems, fusion energy continues to attract attention as one of the most promising long-term sources of clean, low-carbon electricity.