EAST achieves 1,200-second high-confinement plasma at ASIPP Hefei

Chinese Academy of Sciences tokamak extends H-mode pulse duration by 40%, closing the steady-state gap with ITER baseline targets.

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) at the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) sustained a 1,200-second high-confinement-mode (H-mode) plasma discharge this week, extending its previous 1,066-second record set in 2025 and pushing well past the symbolic 20-minute threshold for steady-state operation.

Lead scientist Song Yuntao said the run used 100% non-inductive current drive supplied by lower-hybrid current drive (LHCD) and electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH), with active divertor cooling holding tungsten plasma-facing components below 800 °C for the duration of the pulse. The result narrows the steady-state operating gap to ITER's Q=5 long-pulse scenario.

EAST is widely viewed as the leading global testbed for the high-duty-cycle physics that demonstration reactors will need. ASIPP director Song Yunjun confirmed the institute will share full discharge data with the ITER Organization under the existing collaborative agreement, and noted that the result feeds directly into design choices for the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), now in detailed engineering at the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center.