---
title: Nuclear Fusion (EAST Tokamak)
type: technology
url: "https://www.envisioning.com/research/grid/china__nuclear-fusion-east-tokamak"
hub: grid
summary: "China's EAST reactor sustained plasma at 100 million°C for 1,066 seconds in January 2025 — a world record for steady-state fusion confinement"
---

# Nuclear Fusion (EAST Tokamak)

China's EAST reactor sustained plasma at 100 million°C for 1,066 seconds in January 2025 — a world record for steady-state fusion confinement
- Technology Readiness Level: 3/9
- Impact: 3/5
- Investment: 4/5
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in Hefei achieved the longest-duration controlled fusion reaction in history, beating its own previous record. The 'artificial sun' operated at temperatures seven times hotter than the core of the actual sun.

China launched the China Fusion Energy Corporation (CFEC) as a state-backed commercial fusion company, signaling intent to move from research to deployment. Fusion is named as a 'future industry' in the 15th Five-Year Plan. EAST also serves as a testbed for ITER, the international fusion project in France.

The fundamental challenge remains: sustaining plasma is different from generating net energy, which is different from generating economically viable power. But China's willingness to invest at national scale — combining state labs, universities, and commercial entities — gives it a structural advantage in a field that requires decades of patient capital.

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Source: Envisioning — Technology Research Institute (https://www.envisioning.com/research/grid/china__nuclear-fusion-east-tokamak)