How can a Chinese private enterprise with an investment of 130 million yuan outperform an international project worth 20 billion yuan in creating an "artificial sun"?

Friends who have played the Fallout series of games must be deeply impressed by the ubiquitous nuclear energy technology in it.

In that fictional timeline, nuclear energy is simply a "universal fuel." Not only are the power armors worn by soldiers powered by nuclear fusion cores, but the energy source for household robots also comes from miniature nuclear fusion reactors. The cars running on the streets are not equipped with traditional engines under the hood, but rather "nuclear energy hearts," full of a sense of science fiction.

It seems that nuclear energy has transformed from a national - level project into a very common commercial application.

In the past, in our perception, nuclear energy projects like nuclear power plants required the aggregation of the nation's top scientific research forces and the allocation of huge resources to advance, and were far from commercial and civilian use.

However, now, the seemingly science - fiction plot in Fallout has partially come into reality.

In the past two years, China's private nuclear fusion projects have been booming. Among them is Energy Singularity, a domestic enterprise invested in by Mihoyo and NIO.

The high - temperature superconducting tokamak device "Honghuang 70" of Energy Singularity

In 2024, it built the world's first all - high - temperature superconducting tokamak device "Honghuang 70." This year, it generated a magnetic field of up to 22.4 Tesla, breaking the world record previously held by a US company.

On April 16 this year, the "Xuanlong - 50U" spherical torus hydrogen - boron fusion device of ENN Group also made a major breakthrough, achieving a high - temperature, high - density million - ampere (mega - ampere) plasma current.

The "Xuanlong - 50U" spherical torus hydrogen - boron fusion device

To understand why private nuclear fusion has achieved breakthroughs in the past two years, we have to start with a recent act of the US to impose restrictions.

Breakthroughs under restrictions

In June this year, the US Department of Commerce suddenly announced a suspension of licenses for the export of key components and equipment for nuclear power plants to China. Well - known nuclear power equipment suppliers such as Westinghouse Electric and Emerson received the ban notice.

Let's first talk about Westinghouse Electric. It is a well - known name in the nuclear power circle.

In the past, China's nuclear power plant construction largely adopted its technology and equipment. For example, their reactor pressure vessels, which are the key "shells" of the reactor, have to withstand high temperatures, high pressures, and strong radiation, requiring extremely high - quality materials and manufacturing processes.

Emerson is also not to be underestimated. It mainly supplies highly reliable nuclear - grade instruments that can accurately measure key parameters such as pressure and temperature during the operation of nuclear power plants, playing a crucial role in ensuring the stable operation of nuclear power plants.

However, private enterprises engaged in nuclear fusion happen to "bypass" those restricted fission nuclear power components, making them more flexible.

Private enterprises engaged in nuclear fusion do not use Westinghouse's nuclear main pumps or Emerson's reactor instrumentation and control systems. They focus on devices such as tokamaks, FRCs, and lasers. The core components they need are high - temperature superconducting magnets, vacuum vessels, power supply systems, and low - temperature cooling systems, many of which can be produced domestically in China.

In 2025, 68% of the new patents in China's nuclear power field came from private enterprises. These patents are mainly concentrated on "small parts" such as sealing materials and sensors, but they play a crucial role in the nuclear power industry.

So why can private enterprises now handle what was originally a national - level project?

An important reason is that with the rise of China's industrial capabilities, several important technologies related to nuclear fusion have been mastered by private enterprises over the past decade or more.

For example, the "Honghuang 70" device built by Energy Singularity requires 26 high - temperature superconducting magnets in its magnet system. How extreme are the winding precision requirements for these magnets? The tension error of each wire loop cannot exceed 0.1 Newton, which is equivalent to hanging an apple at the height of a 50 - story building with a spider silk and ensuring that the tightness of the silk is exactly the same.

A decade ago, components with such precision could only be imported. But now, domestic private enterprises, relying on the experience accumulated from manufacturing motors for new - energy vehicles, have directly transformed wire - winding machines into "special - purpose machines for superconducting magnets." These machines are not only 30% faster than imported equipment but also cut the cost in half.

Another example is that in the past, the precision vacuum chambers, superconducting coils, and low - temperature systems required by ITER could only be manufactured by Western military factories. Now, with the joint efforts of China's shipbuilding, aerospace industries, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and private enterprises, they can independently manufacture devices at the same level as those of ITER.

What lies behind this? It is the progress of China's advanced manufacturing and the fast - paced execution ability of private enterprises. Now, private enterprises engaged in nuclear fusion directly cooperate with domestic superconducting and precision - manufacturing enterprises, and they can complete the entire chain of magnet winding, vacuum system installation, and power supply debugging very quickly.

This enables China not to wait for the slow progress of large - scale national projects like ITER but to pursue a "rapid - implementation private project route" in parallel.

The advantages of multi - route parallel development

In addition to the rise in science and technology and industry, another reason for private enterprises to engage in nuclear fusion is that there are many types of fusion reactions and numerous technological routes. The ability of private enterprises to iterate quickly is suitable for a "horse - racing - style" multi - route exploration.

Why are there so many routes? Because nuclear fusion is different from nuclear fission (the approach of the Manhattan Project). Nuclear fission is about "splitting large atoms," and the technology is relatively straightforward. When uranium or plutonium undergoes a chain reaction, it explodes.

However, nuclear fusion is a "delicate task." It involves "fusing small atoms together," which is extremely difficult. Currently, no single route can be regarded as the "optimal solution."

All routes have key pain points, and none of them is completely smooth.

For example, tokamaks are large in size and have poor stability. The laser ignition route has high laser losses and extremely low efficiency. Routes such as metal plasma collisions have high instantaneous temperatures but are difficult to control.

Currently, the two main nuclear fusion routes are tokamaks and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Tokamaks use a strong magnetic field to "confine" the plasma in a vacuum chamber, like a magnetic cage. A typical example is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). ICF uses lasers to compress fuel pellets to extremely high pressures, like the US National Ignition Facility (NIF).

However, these are just broad directions, and there are further subdivisions in the details. For example, in tokamaks, some use low - temperature superconducting magnets, while others use high - temperature superconducting magnets. Some build large - scale devices, while others focus on miniaturization.

In the future, there may be "high - end fusion, low - end fusion, ship - borne fusion, and rural fusion," with different market positioning corresponding to different technological paths.

China's Energy Singularity has fully committed to the high - temperature superconducting tokamak, betting on the miniaturization and low - cost route. Fusion New Energy is more inclined to traditional tokamaks but emphasizes engineering integration efficiency.

Each team is betting on the success of its own route. It's like a race where multiple horses start simultaneously on different tracks, and there's always a chance that one will cross the finish line.

For example, the core route of ENN Group's "Xuanlong - 50U" is a combination of a spherical torus and hydrogen - boron fusion. It may sound a bit complicated, but it's actually a special way of nuclear fusion.

The uniqueness of this idea lies in "hydrogen - boron fusion." Nuclear fusion fuels usually use deuterium and tritium, which are easy to react but produce neutrons, bringing radiation. This requires thicker shielding, and the cost increases rapidly.

The hydrogen - boron fuel (protons and boron - 11) selected by ENN is remarkable. After the reaction, it mainly produces charged helium nuclei, with almost no neutrons. It's as clean as a "green energy dream." Moreover, hydrogen and boron are abundant on Earth, unlike tritium, which is scarce.

Therefore, hydrogen - boron fusion requires higher temperatures and pressures. It is a very difficult but also highly promising route.

Efficiency and cost

In addition to the horse - racing - style multi - route exploration, another major advantage of private enterprises in nuclear fusion is their extreme engineering efficiency and cost - effectiveness.

So why has efficiency become so important now? Isn't nuclear fusion, this "artificial sun," considered a century - long project?

The answer is that the times have changed! Climate change is putting pressure on countries, and the goal of carbon neutrality is like a tight - fitting curse. Fossil fuels need to be phased out quickly.

The impact of global warming: the difference between the average surface temperature in 2024 and that from 1991 - 2020

Nuclear fusion, as the "ultimate energy source," is clean and almost inexhaustible, making it a highly sought - after option for countries. However, the problem is that people can't wait! Governments, investors, and the public are all watching: Can't this "artificial sun" stop burning money and start generating electricity?

This is where the ability of private enterprises to "compete in efficiency" and "control costs" comes in handy.

For example, one of the most critical components in nuclear fusion is the superconducting magnet, which is like a super - strong "magnetic cage" that has to firmly hold the plasma at hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius to prevent it from escaping.

China builds the world's largest superconducting magnet

The magnet has to be wound with superconducting materials with high precision. A slight deviation may cause the plasma to "escape," and the entire device will malfunction.

The "flying feet" of high - speed trains, maglev technology, actually relies on similar superconducting magnets.

The "Honghuang 70" tokamak of Energy Singularity uses high - temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets made of rare - earth barium copper oxide. Western Superconducting Technologies Co., Ltd. in China has long supplied superconducting wires for the ITER project, with very advanced technology.

Energy Singularity directly cooperates with domestic suppliers, uses ready - made superconducting materials and technology, and slightly optimizes them to create the super - strong magnets required for nuclear fusion. The manufacturing cost is at least half lower than that of traditional tokamaks.

Similarly, another key component of nuclear fusion is the vacuum chamber, which is like a super - sealed "vacuum bottle" that has to ensure that there is almost no air inside. Otherwise, the plasma will collide with air molecules, and the reaction will fail.

Although the requirements seem very high, from an engineering perspective, it is actually the top - level version of clean manufacturing.

Which industry is it similar to? Semiconductor manufacturing.

Chip manufacturing