HL-2M Tokamak, the artificial sun, in Chengdu of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province Photo: Courtesy of China Atomic Energy Authority

The new generation of China's "artificial sun" installation, known as HL-2M Tokamak, has been successfully installed in Chengdu of Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Friday and realized its first discharge, China Atomic Energy Authority announced.

This shows China has independently mastered the design, construction and operation of technologies of a large-scale advanced tokamak device, a machine designed to harness the energy of fusion, laying a solid foundation for the independent design and construction of my country's nuclear fusion reactors, it said.

The HL-2M Tokamak, designed to replicate the natural reactions that occur in the sun, aims to provide clean energy through controlled nuclear fusion.

With a more advanced structure and control mode, the new apparatus can generate plasma hotter than 200 million degrees Celsius, and the plasma electric current level can be elevated to more than 2.5 trillion amperes.

The artificial sun is currently the largest advanced tokamak device with the highest parameters in China. It will provide key technical support for China to achieve high-quality development in nuclear fusion, and become an international platform that China join hands with the world in nuclear fusion energy, the agency said.