The archive · Space, Robots, Defence · Technical decision · 2022–2026
Energy Singularity's HTS tokamak bet: HH70 first plasma 2024, 1,337s record by 2026
Built the world's first all-HTS tokamak (HH70) in ~24 months; first plasma June 2024, 1,337-second record by Feb 2026, Q>10 HH170 targeted 2027
Energy Singularity
What the business is
Private fusion developer in Shanghai building compact high-temperature-superconducting tokamaks, targeting commercial power plants in the 2030s
Starting capital：~¥400M seed round led by miHoYo and NIO Capital (2022), per FusionXInvest
How it started
Founded in Shanghai on 2021-06-02 by physicists including CEO Yang Zhao, China's first private fusion company (Xinhua). Yang's bet: REBCO high-temperature superconductors could make tokamaks small and cheap enough for private capital to fund — and China's HTS supply chain would keep cost down. A ¥400M seed round led by game studio miHoYo financed the start.
What happened
HH70 was designed from March 2022 and installed by end of February 2024 — the fastest tokamak build on record, with over 96% localization and full IP ownership (Global Times). On 2024-06-19 Energy Singularity announced first plasma: the world's first tokamak with an all-high-temperature-superconducting magnet system, at roughly 2% of conventional volume. Plans: next machine HH170 (Q>10) by 2027, demonstration power plant by 2030.
How it ended up
Still scaling: by 2026-02-06 HH70 had run 5,755 shots, including a 1,337-second steady-state long-pulse plasma — the longest for a commercially built fusion device (Xinhua). HH170 development is underway; the company says HTS plus AI plasma control has reached engineering feasibility.
Background
Energy Singularity was founded in Shanghai on 2021-06-02 by physicists including CEO Yang Zhao as China's first private fusion company (Xinhua). The bet: REBCO high-temperature-superconducting magnets could shrink a tokamak to about 2% of conventional volume and cut build time from ~30 years to 3-4 years, turning fusion from a national megaproject into hardware a private company can iterate on. A ~¥400M seed round led by game studio miHoYo and NIO Capital (2022) financed the start.
Execution was the proof. HH70's design began in March 2022; installation finished by end of February 2024 — the fastest construction of a superconducting tokamak on record, over 96% localized with fully owned IP (Global Times). On 2024-06-19 the company announced first plasma: the world's first tokamak whose magnet system is entirely high-temperature superconducting, operated by the world's first commercial fusion company.
By 2026-02-06 HH70 had run 5,755 experiments, including a 1,337-second steady-state long-pulse plasma, a record for a commercially built fusion device, credited to AI-based plasma control (Xinhua). Next up: HH170, targeting Q>10 deuterium-tritium equivalent gain by 2027, with a demonstration power plant aimed at 2030 — the stated goal being fusion electricity at the cost of thermal power (co-founder Dong Ge, via Xinhua).
What has to be true
- REBCO HTS magnets are the load-bearing bet: at ~2% of conventional volume and 3-4 year builds, the machine became fundable by private capital instead of only states (Science Times, Global Times).
- First plasma was a checkable milestone on 2024-06-19 that proved engineering feasibility and earned worldwide press — attention that kept follow-on funding flowing.
- 96% localization plus a domestic HTS supply chain (Global Times) cut both cost and iteration latency, a structural edge over US peers like Commonwealth Fusion Systems.
- The 1,337-second pulse (2026-02-06) showed HTS plus AI plasma control has engineering feasibility (Xinhua) — evidence the bet is compounding, not just promising.
What can be applied
New materials can collapse a 30-year national megaproject to venture scale: build the smallest credible device first (24 months to first plasma), scale only after a verified milestone, not before.
Aftermath
As of 2026-02-06, HH70 keeps running daily (~5,755 shots) while the company focuses engineering on HH170 (Q>10 by 2027) and AI-based plasma control. Xinhua reports Shanghai is building itself into a global fusion innovation hub around multiple pathways, with Energy Singularity's HTS tokamak as the flagship commercial line. The company's stated trajectory: HH170 for net energy gain, then a demonstration plant toward 2030, targeting fusion electricity costs at or below thermal power. Rivals (CFS's SPARC, others) still trail on the all-HTS commercial-operation record Energy Singularity holds.
Sources
- China's First High-Temperature Superconducting Fusion Reactor Achieves Initial Plasma Discharge
- China's commercial 'artificial sun' achieves first discharge
- Shanghai's 'artificial sun' achieves new tech breakthrough
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