China aims to launch combustion trials to push for making "artificial sun"

China plans to launch official fusion combustion experiments in 2027 using its upgraded HL-3 tokamak device. This critical step aims to transition the country's "artificial sun" research from basic physics into a foundation for an industrial fusion energy system.

The HL-3 device has achieved a "dual hundred-million-degree" operation, hitting ion temperatures of 120 million °C and electron temperatures of 160 million °C. Domestic state-owned power entities have also injected billions of yuan to scale up engineering capacity, shifting the nation from lab-scale research to major industrial supply chains.