The construction site in Hefei, in China’s Anhui province, has reached a tangible milestone: the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak, known as BEST, has been officially handed over and brought into operation. Since July, key components of the device have been delivered to the site, and assembly has already passed the halfway mark of the planned work. This is no announcement on paper — technicians are physically working on the reactor, piece by piece.
BEST is a compact superconducting tokamak designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process that powers the Sun. Its stated goal is to achieve a burning plasma — a state in which the reaction becomes self-sustaining through the heat it generates, without the need for continuous external energy input. This is the qualitative leap that separates current experimental facilities from a real fusion power plant. The device will conduct experiments with deuterium-tritium plasma, targeting a fusion power output between 20 and 200 megawatts and a net energy gain. The first energy-producing tests are expected in 2030.
The project builds on the achievements of its predecessor, EAST, China’s other operational tokamak, which has been running in Hefei since 2006. In January 2025, EAST set a world record by sustaining plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 consecutive seconds. That operational experience is feeding directly into BEST’s design. Researchers at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) completed tests this summer on two large superconducting magnets destined for the new reactor, verifying that the electrical systems perform under load. The cryostat base — one of the most structurally critical components — was successfully manufactured and installed as early as October 2024.
The project’s international dimension has grown considerably. In November 2025, the Chinese Academy of Sciences launched an international scientific program on burning plasma research, opening China’s fusion platforms — including BEST — to the global scientific community. Scientists from more than ten countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy, signed the Hefei Fusion Declaration, promoting open sharing and cooperation in fusion research. The move transforms BEST from a national project into a global fusion reference facility.
Alongside the public initiative, private company ENN Group announced its own breakthrough with the spherical device EXL-50U: more than 100 million fusion reactions per second, using an alternative mix of hydrogen and boron-11 instead of conventional deuterium-tritium. It is the first time a private company has achieved that reaction rate with proprietary hardware. The coexistence of public and private fusion programs in China signals the sector’s maturity, not merely an anomaly.
With BEST’s completion expected by the end of 2027, China is positioning itself as the most advanced country on the path toward commercial fusion. If the 2030 tests confirm net energy gain, the Hefei tokamak could become the first device in history to generate electricity from nuclear fusion in a demonstrable and measurable way. The rest of the world is watching — and some countries have already chosen to take part.
