CHINA issued an invitation to international scientists Monday to participate in a new collaborative program focused on advancing nuclear fusion — the sun-like reaction that holds the potential to unlock abundant, clean energy and reshape the world’s power systems.

The initiative opens access to several major research platforms operated by the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) — including the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) — to global partners. It also establishes an open research fund to support regular expert exchanges, according to Xinhua News Agency.

As an initial step, fusion scientists from over 10 countries — including France, the United Kingdom, and Germany — signed the Hefei Fusion Declaration at Hefei Future Great Science City, where BEST is situated. The declaration encourages researchers worldwide to conduct fusion-related studies in China.

China has made remarkable strides in the field in recent years. Notably, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) achieved a global milestone in January by sustaining a burning plasma state at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,000 seconds — a world first.

Last month, China’s recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030) formally identified future industries for the first time and called for accelerating the development of cutting-edge technologies, including quantum technology, biomanufacturing, and nuclear fusion.

BEST, the next-generation successor to EAST, broke ground in January 2023 and is slated for completion in 2027. The facility will conduct burning plasma experiments to verify long-pulse steady-state operation, with the goal of generating 20 to 200 megawatts of fusion power. A core objective is to ensure energy output exceeds input, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of fusion-based power generation.

“We are on the cusp of entering a new era of burning plasma research, which is critical for advancing fusion engineering,” said Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics. “This represents a key step in fusion engineering: much like ‘fire,’ the heat generated by the fusion reaction itself will sustain the process, laying the groundwork for future continuous power generation.”

“The new international program leverages China’s strengths in superconducting tokamak technology while uniting global expertise to tackle the frontiers of fusion-burning physics,” he added.(SD-Agencies)