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Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Satellite Images Show China Building What Appears to Be a Huge Fusion Facility
In a move straight out of a Bond film, China seems to be building a massive laser-fired nuclear facility in Mianyang, a major science and research city in Sichuan province. Recently-released satellite imagery appears to show a research compound containing four large laser bays organized around one "target chamber," along with a handful of auxiliary buildings. Reuters reports that analysts with CNA Corp — a research group funded by the US Department of Navy — who viewed the images say the target chamber will likely channel the power of the four laser bays to fuse hydrogen atoms together in the nuclear process known as fusion. The Mianyang facility could have a variety of uses, from the development of clean energy to the testing of nuclear weapons without the need for thermonuclear detonation, a practice China and the US have agreed to halt. Experimental fusion reactors aren't uncommon, though. The United States has been operating a similar site known as the National Ignition Facility in California since 2022, along with many other countries and startups; in fact, the United States and China are already partners, along with other international cohorts partners, on a massive experimental reactor in France called ITER, which is widely viewed as the most promising initiative in the still-elusive development of practical fusion power generation. This isn't the first time that China has made headlines for its domestic pursuit of fusion power, though. Just weeks ago, researchers with the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) claimed to have set a new record by containing a slurry of high-energy plasma for over 17 minutes in a facility called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), also known as the "Artificial Sun." The accomplishment more than doubled the previous record for sustained fusion reaction, also set by EAST. (That reactor is pictured at the top of this article.) The record-breaking test is the most recent development in the global fusion race, a multi-billion dollar competition to be the first to develop a clean and nearly limitless alternative to nuclear fission, which produces hazardous waste, among other dangers. The race to clean energy has been exacerbated recently by the huge energy demands of AI facilities — a connection that hasn't gone unnoticed by AI execs including Sam Altman, who claims that his own fusion startup, Helion, is bearing down on a practical solution — though that may be starting to change as more efficient AI models hit the space. While some experts have urged patience when it comes to fusion expectations, China's latest facility is a sign that the race is still on to find the Holy Grail of energy. More on nuclear power: Trump's Tariffs Poised to Wreck Nuclear Power
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China ‘building laser-ignited fusion research centre' in challenge to US
China is building a gigantic laser-ignited fusion power laboratory that is 50pc larger than its US counterpart as the two superpowers spar for energy supremacy. The part-built research centre near the city of Mianyang, in the Sichuan province, has been observed in satellite imagery, with experts warning it could be used to advance both power generation and nuclear weapons. It will have four arms housing massive laser bays capable of shooting powerful beams into a central 'experiment bay' in the centre, the independent research organisation CNA Corp told Reuters. This is for a type of reaction known as laser-ignited fusion, where high-powered lasers are fired at tiny fuel pellets to make them extremely hot and dense, fusing them into hydrogen and releasing energy. Fusion is the same reaction constantly taking place in the heart of the sun. For decades, scientists have viewed harnessing this tricky process as the 'holy grail' of energy because of the amounts of power it would unlock. In 2022, the $3.5bn (£2.8bn) National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California generated more energy from a fusion reaction than the lasers pumped into the target for the first time – a key milestone. However, CNA Corp estimated that the experiment bay at the Chinese facility is about 50pc larger than the one at the NIF. The sprawling development was revealed on Tuesday as American start-up Helion announced a $425m fundraising. Helion is backed by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs Sam Altman, Open AI's chief, and Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder and serial venture capitalist. The highly secretive company is racing to build the world's first fusion reactor by 2028 under a deal with Microsoft. Using so-called magneto-inertial fusion technology, Helion's reactor will heat up hydrogen and helium based fuels into a plasma state and then smash them together using powerful magnets. The resulting reaction creates large amounts of energy and generates an electric current through the plasma's interaction with the magnetic field. Helion's latest fundraising takes the amount raised by the company to more than $1bn and values the business at $5.4bn. David Kirtley, Helion's chief executive, said: 'We are on the brink of delivering a transformative energy solution that can meet the world's increasing electricity demands while preserving US energy leadership. 'Our mission has always been focused on rapidly developing and deploying safe, reliable fusion generators that provide abundant, affordable electricity. 'Earning the support of such a prestigious group of investors is a testament to our progress in both solving hard scientific and technical challenges and tackling the practical realities of building hardware to commercialise a brand-new technology.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-01-2025
- Science
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Images Show China Building Huge Fusion Research Facility
China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organisations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying "arms" that will house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that will hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers will fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organisation CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the $3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Northern California, which in 2022 generated mceore energy from a fusion reaction than the lasers pumped into the target - "scientific breakeven". Eveleth, who is working with analysts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), estimates the experiment bay at the Chinese facility is about 50% bigger than the one at NIF, currently the world's largest. The development has not been previously reported. "Any country with an NIF-type facility can and probably will be increasing their confidence and improving existing weapons designs, and facilitating the design of future bomb designs without testing" the weapons themselves, said William Alberque, a nuclear policy analyst at the Henry L. Stimson Center. China's foreign ministry referred Reuters questions to the "competent authority". China's Science and Technology Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. In November 2020, US arms control envoy Marshall Billingslea released satellite images he said showed China's buildup of nuclear weapons support facilities. It included images of Mianyang showing a cleared plot of land labeled "new research or production areas since 2010". That plot is the site of the fusion research center, called the Laser Fusion Major Device Laboratory, according to construction documents that Eveleth shared with Reuters. NUCLEAR TESTING Igniting fusion fuel allows researchers to study how such reactions work and how they might one day create a clean power source using the universe's most plentiful resource, hydrogen. It also enables them to examine nuances of detonation that would otherwise require an explosive test. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, of which both China and the United States are signatories, prohibits nuclear explosions in all environments. Countries are allowed "subcritical" explosive tests, which do not create nuclear reactions. Laser fusion research, known as inertial confinement fusion, is also allowed. Siegfried Hecker, a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, another key US nuclear weapons research facility, said that with testing banned, subcritical and laser fusion experiments were crucial to maintaining the safety and reliability of the US nuclear arsenal. But for countries that have not done many test detonations, he said - China has tested 45 nuclear weapons, compared with 1,054 for the United States - such experiments would be less valuable because they do not have a large data set as a base. "I don't think it would make an enormous difference," Hecker said. "And so ... I'm not concerned about China getting ahead of us in terms of their nuclear facilities." Other nuclear powers, such as France, the United Kingdom and Russia, also operate inertial confinement fusion facilities. The size of those facilities reflects the amount of power designers estimate is needed to apply to the target to achieve ignition, said Omar Hurricane, chief scientist for the inertial confinement fusion programme at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which operates NIF. "These days, I think you probably can build a facility that's of equal energy or even more energetic (than NIF) and a smaller footprint," Hurricane said. But, he added, at too small a scale, experimental fusion does not appear possible. That other countries operate laser-driven fusion research centers is not a cause for alarm in itself, Hurricane said. "It's kind of hard to stop scientific progress and hold information back," he said. "People can use science for different means and different ends, and that's a complicated question."
The Independent
28-01-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Satellite images show China building huge secret fusion research facility, analysts say
China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research centre in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organisations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying 'arms' that will house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that will hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers will fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at U.S.-based independent research organisation CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the $3.5 billion U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Northern California, which in 2022 generated more energy from a fusion reaction than the lasers pumped into the target - 'scientific breakeven'. Eveleth, who is working with analysts at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), estimates the experiment bay at the Chinese facility is about 50% bigger than the one at NIF, currently the world's largest. The development has not been previously reported. 'Any country with an NIF-type facility can and probably will be increasing their confidence and improving existing weapons designs, and facilitating the design of future bomb designs without testing' the weapons themselves, said William Alberque, a nuclear policy analyst at the Henry L. Stimson Centre. China's foreign ministry referred Reuters questions to the 'competent authority'. China's Science and Technology Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment. In November 2020, U.S. arms control envoy Marshall Billingslea released satellite images he said showed China's buildup of nuclear weapons support facilities. It included images of Mianyang showing a cleared plot of land labeled 'new research or production areas since 2010'. That plot is the site of the fusion research centre, called the Laser Fusion Major Device Laboratory, according to construction documents that Eveleth shared with Reuters. Igniting fusion fuel allows researchers to study how such reactions work and how they might one day create a clean power source using the universe's most plentiful resource, hydrogen. It also enables them to examine nuances of detonation that would otherwise require an explosive test. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, of which both China and the United States are signatories, prohibits nuclear explosions in all environments. Countries are allowed 'subcritical' explosive tests, which do not create nuclear reactions. Laser fusion research, known as inertial confinement fusion, is also allowed. Siegfried Hecker, a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and the former director of Los Alamos National Laboratory, another key U.S. nuclear weapons research facility, said that with testing banned, subcritical and laser fusion experiments were crucial to maintaining the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. But for countries that have not done many test detonations, he said - China has tested 45 nuclear weapons, compared with 1,054 for the United States - such experiments would be less valuable because they do not have a large data set as a base. 'I don't think it would make an enormous difference,' Hecker said. 'And so ... I'm not concerned about China getting ahead of us in terms of their nuclear facilities.' Other nuclear powers, such as France, the United Kingdom and Russia, also operate inertial confinement fusion facilities. The size of those facilities reflects the amount of power designers estimate is needed to apply to the target to achieve ignition, said Omar Hurricane, chief scientist for the inertial confinement fusion programme at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which operates NIF. 'These days, I think you probably can build a facility that's of equal energy or even more energetic (than NIF) and a smaller footprint,' Hurricane said. But, he added, at too small a scale, experimental fusion does not appear possible. That other countries operate laser-driven fusion research centres is not a cause for alarm in itself, Hurricane said. 'It's kind of hard to stop scientific progress and hold information back,' he said. 'People can use science for different means and different ends, and that's a complicated question.'
Japan Times
28-01-2025
- Science
- Japan Times
Images show China building huge fusion research facility, analysts say
SINGAPORE – China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations say, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying "arms" that will house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that will hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers will fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at U.S.-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the $3.5 billion U.S. National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Northern California, which in 2022 generated more energy from a fusion reaction than the lasers pumped into the target: "scientific breakeven."
