China's Magnetic Confinement Fusion: Lea

China's Magnetic Confinement Fusion: Leading in Core Tech, yet Facing Material Hurdles Against ITER

 

China has indeed mastered and developed magnetic confinement fusion technology, and while Europe's International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) stands as the world's largest-scale experimental reactor of its kind, its related technologies do not surpass China's. In fact, China provides critical materials and holds patents for key components such as superconducting magnets and heating systems—core parts that ITER relies on. Where Europe currently leads China, however, lies in materials science: China's wall materials struggle to withstand neutron bombardment, aging too quickly, which results in significantly higher maintenance and replacement costs compared to Europe's solutions. It truly highlights how "the barriers between industries are as high as mountains"—a humbling reminder of the complexities across different fields.

 

Currently, controlled nuclear fusion research primarily follows two pathways: inertial confinement fusion and magnetic confinement fusion. In the inertial confinement realm, the U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF) leads the world; in magnetic confinement, Europe's ITER takes the global lead. Yet, harnessing nuclear fusion for practical power generation remains an unachieved goal. When this milestone will be reached? The most optimistic estimate today suggests it may take at least 20 more years—a timeline that underscores the grand challenge still ahead for global scientists.