Global Fusion Race Accelerates: From Hefei to Berlin, TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL's Powder Metallurgy Nuclear Steel Enters Small-Batch Trial Production
On October 1, the fusion energy sector witnessed back-to-back major developments.
Domestically, the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST) project in Hefei achieved a key milestone. The Dewar base, a critical component of the main reactor, was successfully fabricated and delivered, precisely installed in the BEST main hall, signaling a new phase in the construction of the project's main facilities. With core components and engineering installations accelerating, China is taking another step forward in the development of compact fusion experimental devices.
Internationally, on the same day, the German government unveiled the "Germany on the Path to a Fusion Power Plant" action plan in Berlin, announcing a cumulative investment exceeding €2 billion by 2029, aiming to build the world's first fusion power plant. Dorothee Bär, Germany's Federal Minister of Research, Technology, and Space, stated, "Energy underpins competitiveness, value creation, and national sovereignty. Fusion holds the promise of delivering safe, reliable, environmentally friendly, and universally affordable clean energy for the future."
Together, these announcements underscore that the global race for fusion energy is rapidly intensifying. As a key pathway in humanity's pursuit of ultimate clean energy, breakthroughs in fusion research and engineering are continuously reshaping the field.
Against this backdrop, TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL's nuclear steel is entering an unprecedented growth phase. Building on its deep expertise in special steels and advanced materials, the company aligns closely with national strategic priorities, continuously advancing the R&D and industrialization of high-performance nuclear steel for fusion devices, supporting both major domestic scientific infrastructure and future international fusion projects.
As the first Chinese enterprise to achieve mass production of powder-metallurgy tool and die steels, TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL has, since early 2025, leveraged its full-chain powder steel production advantages to actively collaborate with the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. After multiple rounds of technical exchanges, both parties confirmed that the "powder metallurgy + hot isostatic pressing (HIP)" process not only effectively avoids macrosegregation common in traditional casting but also greatly increases the flexibility of adding beneficial alloying elements and allows precise control over the distribution of nanoscale and submicron strengthening phases, thereby significantly enhancing the key properties of fusion reactor materials. This innovative approach is widely recognized as a major future direction for new structural materials and neutron shielding materials in fusion reactors.
Currently, TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL has successfully mastered the core technologies of gas atomization, sieving and homogenization, and HIP for neutron shielding materials used in fusion devices, and has achieved small-batch trial production. Testing result shows that the strengthening phases are uniformly dispersed, with maximum particle size not exceeding 4 μm, fully meeting international standards. The trial pieces exhibit high strength, toughness, and elongation, marking a substantial step forward for TIANGONG in the R&D of critical materials for nuclear fusion.
Next, TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL will continue to tackle thermal processing and near-net-shape forming technologies, while accelerating the development and industrialization of another class of critical fusion structural materials.
The energy revolution has already begun. From Hefei to Berlin, the global pace of fusion energy development is accelerating in unison. Leveraging "Made in China" innovation and resilience, TIANGONG INTERNATIONAL's nuclear steel is leading the way into small-batch powder metallurgy applications, providing the strongest material support for humanity's clean energy ambitions.