EAST
tokamak China
EAST is a tokamak fusion device run by Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. It is operating. Like every fusion device built so far, it has produced no net electricity.
What it has actually demonstrated
Sustained a steady-state plasma for a record 1,066 seconds in January 2025.
China's "artificial sun", and the world leader in long-pulse operation. Duration is the metric that matters for a power plant: a machine that holds a plasma for seconds is a physics experiment, one that holds it for hours could run a generator.
Project
| Organisation | Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences |
|---|---|
| Approach | tokamak |
| Confinement | magnetic |
| Country | China |
| Status | Operating |
| First plasma | 2006 |
Targets
| Target date | none stated |
|---|---|
| Power target | none stated |
| Energy gain target | none stated |
| Net electricity | No. no fusion device has produced any |
Other tokamak projects
Fusion needs tritium, and the world's civilian stock comes mostly from CANDU fission reactors. See the fusion overview.
Sources
- World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Fusion Power · retrieved 2026-09-07