nuclear fusion

General Fusion says plasma topped 12 million degrees C

General Fusion said Thursday, Oct. 8, that its Lawson Machine 26 (LM26) demonstration heated plasma electrons to more than 12 million degrees Celsius, or above 1 keV. The company used Magnetized Target Fusion, an approach that squeezes plasma with a…

China completes main complex of ‘artificial sun’ reactor

The main complex for China's Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) in Hefei, Anhui province, is finished, according to video footage released on Oct. 1. With the buildings done, the project now moves into the work of assembling the reactor…

China races to build nuclear fusion, SMRs to power AI data centers

The explosive growth of artificial intelligence is pushing China to fast-track investments in nuclear fusion and small modular reactors, as the country seeks to secure the vast energy supplies needed to fuel its expanding network of data centers.

China presents next-gen fusion reactor at IAEA conference

China presented its next-generation fusion reactor, the HL-4 tokamak, at a side event during the 70th IAEA General Conference in Vienna this week, outlining an ambitious roadmap to achieve commercial fusion energy by 2050. The device, now under construction in…

Oil majors pour billions into nuclear fusion startups

The world's largest oil companies are pouring capital into nuclear fusion, wagering that a technology long dismissed as perpetually decades away is now close enough to commercial reality to justify serious investment. Global private funding for fusion hit a record…

China unveils next-generation HL-4 fusion facility

China's 2026 Fusion Energy Conference opened on Tuesday in Shanghai, where scientists revealed detailed plans for "HL-4," the country's next-generation fusion energy experimental facility. The device's primary mission: verifying the reliability of high-temperature superconducting magnets under the complex conditions found…

China completes world’s largest fusion magnet for ‘artificial sun’ reactor

China has completed and successfully tested the world's largest superconducting magnet, a 582-tonne toroidal-field coil designed to confine superheated plasma inside its next-generation fusion reactor. The milestone, announced by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) in…

SoftBank’s Son says AI will need $5 trillion a year by 2040

Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank Group, has declared nuclear fusion the most realistic long-term energy solution for powering AI data centers, outlining a sweeping vision in which artificial intelligence will require infrastructure investments of $5 trillion per year by…

Fusion energy investment hits record $4.5B, industry survey finds

Global investment in nuclear fusion companies surged to a record $4.48 billion in the 12 months ending July 2026, according to a survey released on Monday by the Fusion Industry Association, as the nascent sector draws growing confidence from investors…

Google and RWE back Proxima Fusion’s record $468M round

German nuclear fusion startup Proxima Fusion announced on Tuesday a €411 million ($468 million) financing round that values the company at €2.4 billion, making it the largest-ever private investment in European fusion and establishing Proxima as the continent's best-funded fusion…

China unveils world’s largest superconducting magnet for fusion reactor

Scientists and engineers at China's Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced on Saturday that two key superconducting magnets for the country's "artificial sun" fusion program have passed expert review and full-parameter testing in Hefei, Anhui province.