China launched a groundbreaking international program to advance fusion energy research on November 24, 2025, marking a pivotal moment in the global quest for sustainable power. The initiative centers on the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) facility in Anhui Province, designed to replicate the sun's energy-generating process through nuclear fusion.
Dubbed the new "artificial sun," BEST aims to achieve burning plasma and net energy gain by 2027, targeting 20–200 megawatts of fusion power. This milestone could revolutionize electricity generation, offering a virtually limitless clean energy source without carbon emissions or long-lived radioactive waste.
The program invites global scientists to collaborate on overcoming technical challenges in plasma stability and energy containment. Fusion energy, long considered humanity's ultimate power solution, has gained urgency amid 2025's intensified climate action debates. China's state-backed research institutes emphasize that BEST's success could position the Chinese mainland as a leader in next-generation energy technology.
