The BEST device will be completed in 2027. China leads the world in controlled nuclear fusion, and these enterprises seize the opportunity.

During the National Day holiday, a key breakthrough was achieved in the construction of the Compact Fusion Energy Experiment Device (BEST) project in Hefei, Anhui. Driven by this positive news, the capital market's attention to the concept of controllable nuclear fusion has continued to soar.

On October 14, the concept of controllable nuclear fusion rose rapidly in the early trading session. Heforge Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (603011.SH) touched the daily limit during the session. As of the mid - day close, Advanced Technology & Materials Co., Ltd. (000969.SZ) rose 10.03%, Baiyin Non - ferrous Group Co., Ltd. (601212.SH) rose 7.87%, Heforge Intelligent Equipment rose 7%, and China Nuclear Engineering & Construction Group Corporation Limited (601611.SH) rose 6.53%.

China Leads the World in Controllable Nuclear Fusion Research

It is understood that controllable nuclear fusion is a cutting - edge exploration for humans to reproduce the solar energy generation mechanism on Earth. Its core is to make hydrogen isotopes such as deuterium and tritium undergo fusion reactions under extreme high - temperature and high - pressure conditions, and to ensure the safety and controllability of the process through engineering means. Compared with chemical reactions, the energy released by a single fusion reaction is millions to tens of millions of times higher, with a power density far exceeding that of combustion.

If the technology is realized and industrialized, it will provide almost infinite clean energy in the future, and is expected to become the ultimate solution to the global energy structure and carbon emission reduction problems, leading a new round of scientific and technological revolution.

Currently, controllable nuclear fusion is divided into three technical routes: gravitational confinement, inertial confinement, and magnetic confinement. The magnetic confinement route is the most mainstream one at present, and it is the mainstream choice for world - class and national - level projects as well as many private enterprises.

Notably, China's fusion energy research is transitioning from basic science to engineering practice, and substantial breakthroughs have been achieved in relevant technologies.

In January 2025, the fully superconducting tokamak device "Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak" (EAST) set a world record of "high - quality burning" at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1000 seconds. On October 1, the Dewar base, a core component of the independently developed Compact Fusion Energy Experiment Device (BEST) in China, was successfully installed, marking that the main project has entered a new stage. After its completion in 2027, the device is expected to become the world's first compact fusion energy experiment platform. On October 11, the tender for core components such as the divertor target plate with a total value of over 100 million yuan was launched, and the construction process is progressing steadily.

Controllable nuclear fusion bears the ultimate dream of humans for clean energy. Although full commercialization may still take a long time, each technological breakthrough is shortening this distance. China's scientific research teams are striving for the lead in this field, and the start of the BEST device construction marks another solid step forward for China.

Domestic Enterprises Achieve Remarkable Innovation Results and Receive Continuous Orders

Specifically, several domestic enterprises have made breakthroughs in the field of controllable nuclear fusion. In its semi - annual report for 2025, Heforge Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. stated that the company completed the delivery of the "first batch of gravity supports for the BEST vacuum chamber", overcame the "bottleneck" problem, and was the first to achieve 100% independent research and development of Inconel 718 super bolts for fusion reactors. It participated in the research and development of the divertor and blanket projects of the BEST vacuum chamber, conducted in - depth development of the manufacturing process for the divertor and blanket, and played an important role in the pre - research work of the divertor and blanket.

According to public information, several listed companies have won bids for nuclear fusion - related project orders, laying a business foundation for their continuous in - depth development and subsequent efforts in this field. Among them, Zhongzhou Special Materials Co., Ltd. (300963.SZ) won the sole bid for the support components of the BEST nuclear fusion vacuum chamber with high - temperature alloy materials, with an order amount of 180 million yuan. In addition, the first - wall material supplied by the company for the BEST reactor can withstand temperatures exceeding 2000°C, and the orders from the BEST project account for 40% of its nuclear power revenue.

Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited (002135.SZ) recently revealed on the interactive platform that the company won the bid for a batch of embedded parts procurement from Fusion Energy New (Anhui) Co., Ltd. in 2024, and the project is currently being carried out normally. According to data from Flush, Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited recently added the concept of "controllable nuclear fusion".

In recent years, Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited has actively responded to the country's "dual - carbon" goal, actively grasped the new opportunities in energy transformation and low - carbon economy, and taken multiple measures to vigorously expand new energy business. It has expanded the green and low - carbon energy market with the "prefabricated + EPC + BIPV" model and focused on business areas such as BIPV, BAPV, centralized photovoltaics, and supporting energy storage.

Xinfengguang Electric Co., Ltd. (688663.SH) said on the interactive platform that the company is actively participating in power supply projects for controllable nuclear fusion and maintaining close contact with relevant scientific research institutions and project companies. Hongwei Technology Co., Ltd. (688711.SH) said that the company has reached cooperation with leading domestic nuclear fusion device manufacturers and several power supply manufacturers to accelerate the application of its high - voltage modules in background magnetic field power supplies and energy recovery power systems. AVIC Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. (002179.SZ) said that the company is following up on the R & D needs of valve systems and complete machine research institutes in the middle and lower reaches of the controllable nuclear fusion industry chain, and some of its products are already in use.

Policy Support Continues, with Vast Future Development Space

In recent years, China has continuously strengthened policy support to promote the steady development of the nuclear fusion industry.

In 2024, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of Future Industries", which clearly listed nuclear fusion as a key area and required the establishment of a full - chain equipment system. In April 2025, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued the "Notice on Matters Concerning the Radiation Safety Management of Fusion Devices", which for the first time included fusion devices in the unified radiation safety supervision system, standardized the safety of device construction and operation, and filled the gap in the regulatory framework between traditional nuclear fission reactors and particle accelerators. In September this year, the "Atomic Energy Law of the People's Republic of China" was passed, clearly encouraging scientific research and technological development in controlled thermonuclear fusion.

Previously, the "Implementation Opinions on 'Artificial Intelligence + Energy'" issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration included AI - assisted plasma prediction and control in the technical path, providing intelligent solutions for the stable operation of fusion devices. A series of policies have escorted the development of the industry.

If nuclear fusion is fully commercialized, according to the prediction of the research institution Ignition Research, by 2050, the controllable nuclear fusion industry will become a market worth at least one trillion US dollars, with the superconducting magnet market exceeding tens of billions of US dollars, indicating a huge potential market scale. At the same time, the report "Global Fusion Industry in 2025" released by the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) also confirms the global attention to the nuclear fusion industry. In the past five years, the global fusion industry has witnessed explosive growth, with the total investment soaring from 1.9 billion US dollars in 2021 to 9.7 billion US dollars in 2025.

AVIC Securities pointed out in a research report that controllable nuclear fusion is expected to lead a new round of scientific and technological revolution and is regarded as the "ultimate solution" in the energy field. When energy is no longer scarce, the international order based on resources will also be rewritten, and countries that master the core technology first will gain a say in the global energy field. At the same time, companies that have pre - arranged in the field of controllable nuclear fusion are expected to continue to benefit.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Lanfu Finance Network", author: Lanfu Finance Network, published by 36Kr with authorization.