Over the past week, China has achieved a series of technological milestones spanning fusion energy, advanced materials and offshore renewable energy.

Homegrown superconducting magnets for fusion research

On June 27, the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced a major breakthrough in the pursuit of fusion energy. Two key superconducting magnets developed for one of China's "artificial sun" projects have successfully passed development acceptance and full-parameter testing, achieving 100% domestic production.

The centerpiece is the Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting magnet, which has become the largest of its kind ever built for a fusion device.

It measures 21 meters long, 12 meters wide and 3.3 meters high, with a total weight of 582 tonnes. It has a volume 1.3 times that of the TF magnets designed for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and can store three times as much energy.

As one of the core components of a tokamak fusion reactor, the TF magnet generates the powerful magnetic fields that confine plasma heated to over 100 million degrees Celsius. Sixteen identical magnets will eventually be assembled to form the a complete toroidal magnetic field system.

New carbon fiber production lines for advanced manufacturing

China National Building Material Group (CNBM) on June 28 put three world-class high-performance carbon fiber production lines into operation, strengthening the country's supply capacity for high-end carbon fiber products.

Located at the Lianyungang production base of CNBM subsidiary Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. in east China's Jiangsu Province, the lines cover the three major categories of carbon fiber products: general-purpose, high-strength and high-modulus.

Often referred to as "black gold," carbon fiber combines light weight with exceptional strength and corrosion resistance. It is widely used in strategic sectors including new energy, aerospace, deep-sea engineering, deep-Earth exploration, deep-space missions, sports equipment and consumer electronics.

The new lines comprise a 5,000-tonne-per-year large-tow carbon fiber production line, a 1,000-tonne-per-year T1100-grade high-strength carbon fiber line, and a 600-tonne-per-year high-modulus production line.

Each production line features a distinct technological advantage. The large-tow line, built on an pioneering dry-jet wet-spinning technology, can enhance products for the wind power industry, while effectively reduce manufacturing costs and significantly improve large-scale production efficiency. The T1100-grade line is the world's first 4-meter-wide, thousand-tonne-class production line, which delivers a leap in output capacity while meets the demanding requirements of aerospace and low-altitude aircraft applications. The high-modulus production line is designed to supply premium carbon fiber for high-end equipment manufacturing and 3C electronics.

Offshore wind platform for green development

Also on June 28, the world's first tension-leg platform (TLP) floating offshore wind platform with a single-unit capacity of 16 megawatts departed Zhuhai in south China's Guangdong Province after completing integrated assembly, heading for the Lufeng oilfield cluster in the South China Sea.

Standing more than 307 meters tall and weighing nearly 8,000 tonnes, it is the world's largest of its kind in terms of single-turbine capacity.

Once operational, the platform is expected to generate an average of 54 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. The power will be connected to the oilfield cluster's power grid through subsea cables, enabling the integration of offshore wind power with oilfield operations and supporting coordinated carbon reduction.