China may have nuclear fusion operating commercially by 2050

• 5 days ago (2025-03-03)
• David Flin

Asia 924 Nuclear 678

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The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), which runs an experimental nuclear fusion power plant, has said that it plans to start commercial operation of its first power generation project about five years after a demonstration phase starting around 2045.

In 2024, CNNC formed an industry alliance and set up a new national fusion company, China Fusion. This has attracted around $325 million in investment from CNNC and Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power for cutting-edge tokamak devices, which use magnetic fields to contain and confine superheated plasma to produce power.

Xin Feng, Vice General Manager of CNNC, said that the company also plans to scale up production of its designs for regular nuclear fission reactors and SMRs over the next five years.