World's largest superconducting magnet for fusion reactor unveiled in China

The world's largest Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting magnet for fusion reactors passed technical acceptance by an expert panel on Saturday in Hefei, capital city of east China's Anhui Province.

The volume of this magnet, weighing 582 metric tons, is 1.3 times that of the TF magnet used in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, and its energy storage capacity is three times greater, according to its developers at the Hefei-based Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The magnet, one of the most crucial components of a fusion reactor, is responsible for creating the toroidal magnetic field, which firmly constrains the plasma and reduces the impact and energy loss of high-energy particles on the vacuum chamber walls.

In the future, 16 such magnets will be combined and built together to form a complete Toroidal Field.

"Its function is to confine the plasma, preventing it from hitting the walls within the vacuum chamber. The intensity of its magnetic field is related to the temperature and density required for the plasma in the future. A ring composed of 16 coils will generate a magnetic field of 6.5 teslas," said Wu Yu, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP).

The institute has been developing the magnet for six years.

"This coil is the heaviest in the world, with the highest energy storage capacity among all superconducting coils currently. The special stainless steel we are currently using, as well as our insulating materials and superconducting materials, are all domestically produced. This project is realized with 100 percent of domestic products," said Song Yuntao, head of the ASIPP.

It is one of the two key superconducting magnets related to fusion reactors that were announced by China on the day. The other magnet, the high-temperature superconducting central solenoid coil, completed full-condition parameter testing on the same day.

World's largest superconducting magnet for fusion reactor unveiled in China

World's largest superconducting magnet for fusion reactor unveiled in China

The development of AI and high-speed railway has given a significant boost to Indonesia's tourism, making communication easier and travel smoother for a growing number of foreign visitors.

In November last year, Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism launched the Meticulous Artificial Intelligence of Indonesia (MaiA) platform to strengthen tourism services and enhance global competitiveness.

The digital curator helps travelers find trip inspiration and instantly create routes with personalized destination recommendations, automatic itineraries, interactive maps, and multilingual information.

"You can just ask the AI what you need and then they will suggest very nice suggestions for you," said a tourist from Singapore.

Beyond AI, Indonesia's appeal to travelers from the Asia-Pacific and Europe is also underpinned by its infrastructure, most notably the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, jointly built by China and Indonesia.

Since its opening in 2023, the railway has cut travel time between the two cities from over three hours to just over 40 minutes.

"It's really nice, clean and really fast, so that's good," said a Dutch tourist.

In the first quarter of this year, Indonesia received 3.44 million international tourist arrivals, an increase of 8.62 percent year on year.

The government said the tourism sector's contribution to GDP during the same period was estimated at between 4.01 percent and 5.05 percent.

AI, high-speed railway drive Indonesia's tourism growth