Is China's Artificial Sun Experiment a Risk for the Earth?
China is establishing a state-backed company for a nuclear fusion reactor known as an artificial sun. The nuclear fusion reactor aims to provide a cleaner and safer energy source by imitating the sun's energy generation process.
China is establishing a new state-owned company that will pool resources from across the country to bring a nuclear fusion reactor, known as an artificial sun, to life, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). The establishment of China Fusion Energy was recently announced at an inauguration ceremony, unifying China's fusion energy research and development efforts, which are scattered among research institutes and private firms.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE ARTIFICIAL SUN?
Nuclear fusion aims to provide a clean and safe energy source with little waste and unlimited fuel by mimicking the sun's energy-generating process. Chen Rui, founder of Startorus Fusion, a high-tech company focused on commercial applications of fusion energy and research and development for related technologies, said nuclear fusion has become a national priority.
DEVELOPING VERY RAPIDLY IN EUROPE AND THE USA
Chen, made it clear at a recent meeting that controlled nuclear fusion is the only direction for future energy, saying that this field is currently developing very rapidly in Europe and the United States. Together with the company, a collaborative innovation consortium of 25 organizations led by CNNC has been formed to work together to overcome some of the key challenges in the field of nuclear fusion.
"AN IDEAL SOLUTION TO THE GLOBAL ENERGY CHALLENGE"
"As an ideal solution to the global energy problem, controlled nuclear fusion has moved to the forefront of scientific and technological competition among major countries," CNNC Vice Chairman Cao Shudong said in a statement on the company's website. China needs to develop a "high-quality energy industry" and can do so by taking advantage of the centralized management system to focus national resources and industry inputs on the key project, Cao said. Countries around the world are known to regularly invest in nuclear fusion research due to its high energy potential. In December, nine organizations signed contracts worth a total of £11.6 million with the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) to develop innovative technologies for fusion energy.
BROKE A RECORD TWO YEARS AGO
The nuclear fusion reactor in Hefei, China, known as the artificial sun, broke a world record by operating at 70 million degrees for more than 17 minutes.
