China plans to build a 100 MW Xinghuo hybrid nuclear fusion power plant. The project details were found on the Chinese government procurement website zbytb.com, where a tender for an environmental impact assessment was posted.

Project Key Parameters

Participants: China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Corporation (a state-owned company) and Lianovation Superconductor (a private company specializing in superconductors).

Location: Yaohu Science Island in the Nanchang High-tech Zone, Jiangxi Province.

Budget: More than 20 billion yuan (about 2.76 billion US dollars).

Timeframe

The environmental impact assessment is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

According to the Jiangxi Provincial Development Plan (2021), the demonstration project is scheduled to be completed by 2030.

Technical aspects

In 2023, it was reported that the goal of the project is to achieve a Q factor ≥ 30 (the ratio of output energy to input energy).

Hybrid reactors combine nuclear fusion and fission processes, which allows the use of thorium as a fuel with the potential to replace up to 95% of uranium.

Context of hybrid reactor development

In 2017, a project for a hybrid thermonuclear reactor was prepared in Russia, but at the moment such installations are at the preliminary design stage.

In 2021, information appeared in the media about the creation of a hybrid installation in Siberia, but there was no official confirmation of the readiness of the industrial model.

International similar initiatives

In 2023, the American company Helion entered into agreements on the supply of electricity from future thermonuclear power plants. In March 2023, Italy’s Eni and the US-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) announced a collaboration to commercialize fusion power by the 2030s.

Conclusion

The Xinghuo project is part of China’s strategy to develop fusion technologies. Information on the tender for environmental assessment is currently available, but there is no official data on the start of construction. The implementation of the project by 2030 will depend on the results of research and funding.

Note: China is simultaneously developing both hybrid reactors and classical fusion plants (e.g. EAST and CFETR).