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China’s HL-4 target image unveiled


advanced plasma physics. HL-3 (originally named the


China has unveiled details of the HL-4 (Huanliu-4) tokamak. Source: China National Nuclear Corp (CNNC).


China has unveiled details of the HL-4 (Huanliu-4) tokamak—the world’s first high-temperature superconducting high-field steady-state burning experimental platform. Leveraging Shanghai’s strengths in high-temperature superconductivity, digitalisation, and AI supercomputing, the device is set to accelerate rapid iteration in fusion technology. It serves as a core platform for China’s fusion energy transition toward engineering and commercial applications. The HL-4 facility, being constructed in Shanghai, will use 25T high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets, vastly increasing the magnetic field strength while significantly shrinking the footprint and iteration cycle of the tokamak. “Huanliu” translates to “circirculation” or “toroidal flow”. HL-1 to HL-4 were all designed by the Southwestern Institute of Physics (SWIP) in Chengdu. Built in the late 1970s and completed in 1984, HL-1 was the first large-scale, independently built tokamak in China. It did not produce massive amounts of power or use advanced superconductors. Instead, it taught engineers how to build a vacuum chamber, handle basic magnetic coils, and safely control plasma. HL-2A began operations in 2002 and transitioned the Chinese programme into


HL-2M upgrade) is China’s largest operational conventional (copper- coil) tokamak. In 2023, it generated a plasma current of over one million amperes (1MA) in high-confinement mode. It mimics the core physics of a true burning reactor, but because it uses copper magnets, it cannot run indefinitely without overheating. Recently, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) commissioned


a breakthrough supercapacitor-based pulsed power supply system to modernise the operation of the HL-3. This system represents a significant evolution from traditional pulse step modulation (PSM) and flywheel generator configurations, addressing critical constraints in the high-energy operation of fusion devices. HL-4 takes the plasma physics learned


from HL-3 and marries it to HTS magnets. This eliminates the overheating limitations of copper coils, taking China from short pulses to continuous, industrial power engineering. The target design aims for a minimum fusion energy gain of Q = 5, with an eventual power output of 100MWe-200MWe. Q is the metric used to describe the efficiency of a nuclear fusion reactor. It means the system generates five times more power from fusion reactions than the power injected to heat the plasma. Commissioning is targeted in 2027 for the initial Shanghai facility with completion of the first 25T HTS high-field magnet research, development, and testing line set for 2028. Full prototype magnet development and completion of the facility, aligning with China’s broader push to demonstrate fusion power generation is expected by the end of the decade. ■


Lightbridge test fuel fab


US-based advanced fuel technology company Lightbridge has accelerated plans to build a dedicated facility at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to manufacture Lightbridge Fuel lead test assemblies (LTAs) for testing in US commercial power reactors. This follows its selection in August for the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Nuclear Energy Launch Pad INL programme. The selection provides an accelerated pathway


toward DoE authorisation for Lightbridge to design, build, and operate LTAs represent the final fuel qualification stage between reactor testing and commercial fuel sales. In parallel, the company is working with an unnamed major EPC company on evaluating potential sites and conducting a conceptual


design for the Lightbridge Expandable Fuel Facility (LEFF), a larger, commercial-scale fuel fabrication facility designed to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It will begin production initially at a throughput of a few batch reloads a year and later expand it to many batch reloads a year, with the potential for additional facilities, including facilities serving international markets. Lightbridge is currently irradiating fuel material


samples in the advanced test reactor (ATR) at INL. This represents the next critical phase in moving Lightbridge’s advanced nuclear fuel technology from materials research toward full commercial fuel qualification. The experiment will test fuel rodlets fabricated from an enriched uranium- zirconium alloy with cladding. ■


round up


NEW BUILD PREPARATION OF THE AUTOMATED process control system (APCS) is underway at unit 1 of the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Türkiye as part of the pre-commissioning work that precedes physical start-up. During tests on the inner containment of the reactor building, the APCS is designed to monitor the load on reinforced concrete structures and reinforcing cables, as well as to indicate air leaks during pressure tests of the containment.


SLOVENIA’S STATE-OWNED ENERGY company, GEN Energija, has presented findings from two studies advancing the development of the Krško II NPP (JEK2) project. These related to transport routes and cooling. The transport study evaluated eight potential routes. The engineering feasibility study on cooling tower technologies analysed four options to minimise environmental heat loading on the nearby Sava River.


CHINA NATIONAL NUCLEAR Corporation (CNNC) reported that site planning and excavation work for the second stage of China’s Jinqimen NPP in Zhejiang province has begun. The construction of two Hualong One (HPR1000) pressurised water reactors as part of the second stage of the project was approved at an executive meeting of China’s State Council in July. These are Hualong One 2.0 Reactor Technology Demonstration Projects.


THE FIRST STAGE OF concreting has been completed for the internal cavity of the BREST-OD-300 reactor under construction at the Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk, Tomsk. The lead-cooled BREST-OD-300 fast reactor has an integrated layout. The vessel is not an all-metal structure but a metal- concrete structure. Inside metal cavities are mounted for the core and primary circuit.


CONCRETING OF THE FOUNDATION of the turbine building has begun unit 7 of Russia’s Leningrad NPP (also known as unit 3 of Leningrad-II). Builders have initially filled the central grip of the future base with almost 5,000m³ of concrete mixture. To create a particularly strong foundation, builders will need almost 5,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement and more than 20,000m³ of especially strong concrete.


PLANT OPERATION US POWER UTILITY NEXTERA Energy has secured a $1.9bn federal loan from the Department of Energy to fund the revival of the Duane Arnold Energy Center in Palo, Iowa. The project reflects a major intersection of federal energy policy and the rising power demands of AI. The single-unit boiling water reactor will add 615MWe of emissions-free power to the regional grid. NextEra expects to return the facility to service by the first quarter of 2029.


www.neimagazine.com | October 2026 | 7


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