Tue Feb 18 00:00:00 UTC 2025: ## Chinese Tokamak Achieves Record-Breaking Fusion Plasma Sustainment

**Kolkata, India** – A significant breakthrough in nuclear fusion research has been achieved by Chinese scientists. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) sustained a plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, a new world record. This surpasses the previous record of 403 seconds set by the same device in 2023.

The achievement, reported on January 20th, is a crucial step towards developing viable nuclear fusion reactors, a technology offering a potentially limitless source of clean energy. Nuclear fusion, unlike fission, produces no harmful radioactive waste. However, initiating and sustaining fusion reactions requires incredibly high temperatures to overcome the electrostatic repulsion between atomic nuclei.

EAST, the world’s only tokamak currently utilizing superconducting electromagnets for both toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields, uses magnetic confinement to trap and heat plasma to fusion temperatures. The recent success involved doubling the thermal power input to maintain plasma stability for the extended period. While EAST has not yet achieved “ignition” – a self-sustaining fusion reaction – its progress is vital for the larger ITER project, an international collaboration aiming to build a fusion reactor capable of producing more energy than it consumes.

ITER, despite its massive budget (over €18 billion), has faced delays and criticism. EAST’s successes offer a measure of reassurance, demonstrating the feasibility of the tokamak approach. Alternative fusion technologies, such as inertial confinement using powerful lasers (as seen in the NIF project which achieved ignition in 2022), are also under development. However, the path to commercially viable fusion energy remains challenging, requiring further breakthroughs and significant investment. The ongoing research, involving both large-scale projects and smaller, more focused initiatives, highlights the global drive towards harnessing this clean energy source.

Read More