China plans to launch "artificial sun" by 2027 – video, photos
Photo: TKMEC

By 2027, China plans to complete the creation of a powerful thermonuclear facility BEST (Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak), which experts call an "artificial sun". About this said mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

"The Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) is due to be completed in 2027 and could be the first tokamak in human history to generate electricity through fusion," the Chinese diplomat wrote on Facebook.

Construction of the BEST fusion power plant began in May 2025 in Hefei, Anhui Province in eastern China. Installation of the BEST base, the first key component of the main unit, was completed on October 1, reported chinese news agency Xinhua.

China plans to launch "artificial sun" by 2027 – video, photos
Photo: Xinhua

Unlike previous experimental facilities, BEST, as Xinhua wrote, is designed to demonstrate real "burning" of deuterium-tritium plasma.

China plans to launch "artificial sun" by 2027 – video, photos
Photo: Xinhua

At the heart of BEST is the Dewar vessel, a key component that functions like a giant high-vacuum thermos. It insulates superconducting magnets that must operate at minus 269 degrees Celsius, enabling them to hold plasma heated to more than 100 million degrees.

China plans to launch "artificial sun" by 2027 – video, photos
Photo: Xinhua

BEST (Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak) is the world's first compact experimental fusion energy facility designed by the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is an "artificial sun" with an area of 150,000 square meters and a total investment of 8.5 billion yuan ($1.19 billion).