Domestic Ion Cyclotron Heating System Successfully Developed

On September 11, the Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) project, a major national science and technology infrastructure initiative under China’s 13th Five-Year Plan, led by the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, achieved significant progress. Its key subsystem—the Ion Cyclotron Heating System (ICRF)—successfully passed expert acceptance review, marking a new breakthrough in China’s high-power radio frequency heating technology.

Ion temperature is a critical parameter for fusion reactor "ignition." In deuterium-tritium fusion reactions, the ion temperature must reach hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius and sustain combustion. The ICRF can directly heat ions in the plasma, effectively increasing the reaction probability.

Researchers stated that the successful acceptance of this system signifies that the team has overcome relevant technical barriers, resolved core technical bottlenecks of the ion cyclotron heating system, and achieved full-chain domestic production and independent controllability, holding significant engineering application value. In the future, related technologies can also be extended to fields such as propulsion, semiconductors, healthcare, and electronic technology.