World’s First Fully HTS Tokamak in Shanghai Holds Steady Operations for 1,337 Seconds

(Yicai) April 1 -- The world’s first fully high-temperature superconducting tokamak operated in Shanghai by local nuclear energy startup Energy Singularity has set a new record for the longest test duration of a nuclear fusion device by a commercial enterprise.Honghuang 70 has recently succeeded in a steady-range long-pulse plasma operation for 1,337 seconds, Energy Singularity announced at a media event yesterday.Located in the Lingang Special Area of the China Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, HH70 is the world’s first nuclear fusion tokamak device with a core magnet system that is fully made of HTS materials.Compared with traditional tokamak devices, HH 70 has HTS magnets that not only significantly improve the device’s plasma confinement performance but also greatly cut its volume and construction costs, Yang Zhao, founder and chief executive officer of Energy Singularity, told Yicai and other media at the event.This latest achievement shows that Energy Singularity has become the world’s first commercial entity to master the technology of steady-state operation of plasma for over 1,000 seconds and proves the engineering feasibility of the HTS technology, laying the foundation for the future realization of commercial nuclear fusion, Yang noted.The company has two main operational goals for the second half of this year, Yang said. The first is to further extend the operation time of the steady-state long pulse, and the other is to obtain clear temperature data during operation.Nuclear fusion is one of the key future industrial directions supported by Lingang, said Hang Yong, an official from the high-tech department of the special area’s administrative committee.Lingang will continue to attract nuclear fusion enterprises with different technical routes and devote itself to inviting upstream and downstream firms, including producers of raw materials and core components, such as superconducting materials, first wall materials, and power systems, to form an industrial cluster, Hang noted.Founded in 2021, Energy Singularity is China’s first fusion energy startup. It researches and develops HTS tokamak devices to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy. HH70, which was completed and put into operation in June 2024, has conducted 5,755 experiments.Energy Singularity completed a Series A financing round in February, securing funds from investors such as Beijing Green Energy and Low Carbon Industry Investment Fund and Beijing Jingguorui Investment Management. It did not reveal the amount of financing.The company completed a nearly CNY400 million (USD58.1 million) angel round in February 2022 and a nearly CNY400 million Pre-A round in April 2023 from investors including miHoYo, Nio Capital, HongShan Seed Fund, and Lanchi Ventures.Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione