Target Image of "Artificial Sun" China Huanliu-4 Released

The 2026 Fusion Energy Conference and Fusion Energy Week opened in Shanghai on the 25th. The target image of the "Artificial Sun" China Huanliu-4 was released at the opening ceremony.　　

China Huanliu-4 is a fourth-generation magnetic confinement fusion large-scale scientific experimental device and the world's first high-temperature superconducting strong-field steady-state burning experimental platform. It will systematically verify the reliability of high-temperature superconducting strong-field magnets in complex fusion environments, demonstrate full-domain intelligent control of fusion reactors, and achieve long-duration steady-state operation of the device.　　

Fusion energy is an important direction for the future development of human energy, and major countries around the world are competing to position themselves in the new track of fusion energy. Zhang Guangjun, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, pointed out on the same day that the 15th Five-Year Plan will incorporate controlled nuclear fusion as a future energy technology into key directions for energy innovation development, and list controlled nuclear fusion as a major national frontier science and technology project. He noted that it is necessary to clearly recognize the difficulty, complexity, and long-term nature of achieving fusion energy, respect scientific laws, fully leverage the advantages of the new nationwide system for mobilizing resources, and steadily advance the engineering and industrialization of fusion technology.

On August 25, the 2026 Fusion Energy Conference and Fusion Energy Week opened in Shanghai, where the target image of the "Artificial Sun" China Huanliu-4 was released. (Photo courtesy of China Fusion Energy Co., Ltd.)　　

Wu Xinbao, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, stated that looking ahead, Shanghai will accelerate the advancement of frontier technological innovation in fusion energy and the cultivation of future industries, focus on breakthroughs in key technologies such as high-temperature superconducting magnets, strengthen the application of artificial intelligence technologies, enhance the development of innovation consortia, and improve the open innovation ecosystem for fusion.　　

Shen Yanfeng, Chairman of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), stated that CNNC has achieved breakthrough results such as "dual hundred-million-degree" milestones based on the advanced China Huanliu-3 device, accelerating key technology research for fusion. In March last year, the China Huanliu-3 device achieved the "dual hundred-million-degree" breakthrough for the first time, marking that China's controlled nuclear fusion research has entered the burning experiment stage. At the opening ceremony on the same day, the "Technical Atlas of Fusion Energy Devices (Volume I) - Tokamak Volume," the target image of China Huanliu-4, and the development roadmap for fusion reactor high-temperature superconducting magnets of the Yangtze River Delta High-Temperature Superconducting Magnet Technology Innovation Consortium were released.　　

It is understood that the conference will last four days, including academic exchanges, thematic forums, industrial enterprise exhibitions, and various other activities. More than 70 research institutes, universities, commercial fusion companies, and supply chain enterprises participated in the supporting industrial enterprise exhibitions and other activities.