China's 'artificial sun' shatters nuclear fusion record by generating steady loop of plasma for 1,000 seconds

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China's "artificial sun" reactor has set a new world record for sustaining extremely high-temperature plasma, marking a significant achievement in the quest for virtually limitless clean energy.

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It could take a lot longer.

EAST's new record won't immediately usher in what is often referred to as the "Holy Grail" of clean energy, but it's a step towards a possible future where fusion power plants produce electricity.

Sustaining plasma for extended timeframes has never been accomplished by reactors like this one has still not triggered ignition, the point at which nuclear fusion creates its own power and maintains its own reaction, but this achievement marks a step towards sustaining confined plasma loops over prolonged periods that future reactors will need to generate electricity.

"A fusion device needs to run steadily and efficiently for thousands of seconds to allow a self-sustaining flow of plasma, which is essential for continuous power generation in future fusion power plants," said Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics which oversees the fusion project at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to Chinese state media.

Related: Nuclear fusion may be the key to a clean energy source of the future, but several formidable obstacles hinder its development

The company's experimental plasma 's fusion reactor was able to briefly achieve a state known as ignition in its core, but this was accomplished through a different testing approach than that used at the EAST project. Nevertheless, the overall test facility still consumed more energy than it was able to generate.

Tokamaks like EAST are the most widely used nuclear fusion reactors. EAST warms up plasma and contains it inside a donut-shaped reactor chamber called the tokamak using strong magnetic fields. In the latest reported achievement, researchers updated the reactor with various enhancements, including doubling the output of its heating system, as mentioned in Chinese state media.

The data collected by EAST will help build other reactors, both in China and worldwide. China is participating in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, which involves several countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, and Russia.

For research purposes, a step that could potentially lead to the development of fusion power plants may be taken.

We're looking forward to increasing international cooperation through the EAST and advancing the practical application of fusion energy for the benefit of humanity.