Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in the context of "Fusion power"

Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or the absorption of energy. This difference in mass arises as a result of the difference in nuclear binding energy between the atomic nuclei before and after the fusion reaction. Nuclear fusion is the process that powers all active stars, via many reaction pathways.

Fusion processes require an extremely large triple product of temperature, density, and confinement time. These conditions occur only in stellar cores, advanced nuclear weapons, and are approached in fusion power experiments.

Fusion power is a potential method of electric power generation from heat released by nuclear fusion reactions. In fusion, two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus and release energy. Devices that use this process are known as fusion reactors.

Research on fusion reactors began in the 1940s. As of 2025, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the United States is the only laboratory to have demonstrated a fusion energy gain factor above one, but efficiencies orders of magnitude higher are required to reach engineering breakeven (a net electricity-producing plant) or economic breakeven (where the net electricity pays for the plant's whole-life cost).

Hefei is the capital of Anhui province, China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census. Its built-up (or metro) area is made up of four urban districts plus Feidong, Feixi and Changfeng counties being urbanized, and was home to 7,754,481 inhabitants. Located in the central portion of the province, it borders Huainan to the north, Chuzhou to the northeast, Wuhu to the southeast, Tongling to the south, Anqing to the southwest and Lu'an to the west. A natural hub of communications, Hefei is situated to the north of Chao Lake and stands on a low saddle crossing the northeastern extension of the Dabie Mountains, which forms the divide between the Huai and Yangtze rivers.

The present-day city dates from the Song dynasty. Before World War II, Hefei remained essentially an administrative centre and the regional market for the fertile plain to the south. It has gone through a growth in infrastructure in recent years. Hefei is the location of Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor.