World’s First High-Temperature Superconducting Tokamak Was Built In China

The Chinese company Energy Singularity, working in the field of fusion energy, has built the first high-temperature superconducting tokamak. The HH70 facility is located in the eastern region of Shanghai and was also the world’s first superconducting tokamak built by a private company.

It is claimed that the size of the innovative reactor is only 2% of installations using conventional superconducting coils. The new reactor, called HH70, located in the eastern region of Shanghai, will test the main developments, which will make it possible to create a prototype next-generation reactor by 2027, and a demonstrator fusion power plant by 2030.

The material used for superconducting coils is the relatively cheap compound ReBCO (rare earth barium copper oxide). China has learned to produce ReBCO tape in mass quantities. It is in demand for maglevs of the future and beyond. Tokamaks, as we see, will also benefit from the transition to superconducting magnets.

Currently, the highest Q value obtained from a tokamak is 1.53. Energy Singularity intends to build tokamaks with a Q value of 10. The company plans to build the next generation tokamak by 2027