Milestone for China as engineers advance artificial sun fusion system

Chinese researchers have completed development of the world's largest and highest-load divertor prototype, a key subsystem in the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) in Hefei, Anhui province. The prototype was developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and recently passed expert review and acceptance.

Testing confirmed the divertor prototype achieves a steady-state thermal load of 20 megawatts per square meter. Its flat plate design enables tungsten surface temperatures to remain below the metal's recrystallization threshold during sustained operation.

The divertor is responsible for discharging fusion products and heat from the reactor core while controlling impurities to maintain stable operation. The CRAFT prototype features an integrated mixed coating, which could theoretically raise the tritium breeding ratio by more than 3 percent and facilitate tritium self-sufficiency.

According to researchers, this achievement demonstrates China's self-reliance in divertor research and development and strengthens its technical foundation for future engineering of domestic fusion reactors. Potential applications extend to aerospace, high-end medical equipment, industrial electronics, and new energy vehicles.

The "artificial sun" program aims to achieve clean and essentially limitless energy by replicating solar fusion processes and could support future deep space missions. China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak is also steadily advancing fusion energy science, with ongoing upgrades breaking world records.