China has officially completed the batch delivery of key core components for the burning plasma experimental superconducting tokamak (BEST), the world’s first compact fusion energy experimental device, marking a crucial milestone in the country’s pursuit of controllable nuclear fusion and clean endless energy. The delivery ceremony for eight full-process manufactured toroidal field (TF) coil boxes was held at the Deyang manufacturing base of Sinomach Heavy Equipment Group on September 27th, with all customized core components successfully assembled and shipped for subsequent device installation.
As a new-generation compact fusion experimental facility independently developed by China, the BEST device adopts an innovative compact superconducting tokamak structure, which differs significantly from traditional large-scale fusion devices. It features a more streamlined structural design, higher operational efficiency and lower construction and maintenance costs, effectively breaking the size and cost bottlenecks that have long restricted the commercialization of fusion energy. The TF coil box, delivered in this batch, serves as the core load-bearing and precision positioning component of the BEST device, undertaking the critical task of stabilizing the strong magnetic field required for plasma confinement during fusion reactions.
The manufacturing of the TF coil boxes involved ultra-high precision machining, special welding technology and strict low-temperature resistance testing, posing extreme challenges to industrial processing and quality control. After repeated technical breakthroughs and process optimization by Chinese engineering teams, all components have passed strict dimensional accuracy detection, structural strength verification and extreme environment simulation tests, fully meeting the extreme operational requirements of superconducting fusion devices under high magnetic field and ultra-low temperature conditions.
Industry researchers noted that the successful batch delivery of BEST core components lays a solid physical foundation for the full assembly, commissioning and plasma experiment of the compact fusion device. Unlike traditional fission nuclear energy that relies on uranium resources and produces radioactive waste, nuclear fusion generates energy through the polymerization of hydrogen isotopes, featuring zero carbon emissions, abundant raw materials and inherent safety, which is regarded as the ultimate clean energy solution for human society.
Compared with international mainstream fusion experimental devices, China’s BEST project focuses on compact and efficient technical routes, aiming to build a more flexible and operable experimental platform for exploring fusion reaction mechanisms and verifying key engineering technologies. The completion of core component delivery will accelerate the progress of global compact fusion energy research, providing a new technical path for the early realization of fusion energy commercial application.
In the next stage, the research and engineering team will carry out overall device assembly, system debugging and multi-physics environment matching tests. Upon official operation, the BEST device will fill the technical gap in the field of compact superconducting fusion experiments, continuously accumulate key data for fusion energy engineering iteration, and boost the global research and industrialization process of controllable nuclear fusion clean energy.