Officials announce plans to build plant that could supply unlimited power — here's what we know

The first phase in developing China's and what's touted as the world's first fusion-fission hybrid power plant has been announced, with fundraising efforts for the project underway.

A public tender was issued for an environmental impact assessment on the $2.76 billion Xinghuo high-temperature superconducting reactor, as reported by Interesting Engineering, marking progress toward an original goal of "demonstration and application" of the project by 2030.

It's slated to be built on Yaohu Science Island, which is located in a high-tech zone of Nanchang, Jiangxi province, the report explained. It's an area known for its wealth of copper resources that are a key element in superconducting technology. 

The project is said to be a collaboration between state-owned China Nuclear Industry 23 Construction Corporation and Lianovation Superconductor, with the ultimate goal of achieving an energy gain factor (Q value) of more than 30. 

That value rates the energy output amount related to the input energy required. In comparison, a fusion reactor project in France named ITER aims to have a Q value of above 10, per Interesting Engineering.

Fusion projects, which rely on containing a superheated plasma where two nuclei combine to form a new nucleus, thereby creating energy, are already underway across the globe, although their success remains theoretical. These processes occur naturally in stars like our Sun.

A fusion-fission hybrid reactor looks to use the energy from fusion reactions to split atoms in fissile material at its core, essentially using fusion as a stable fuel to power high-energy fission reactions, as detailed by Power Technology. 

These hybrid systems can use the Earth-abundant deuterium and tritium fuels for the fusion reaction, reducing the need for less available materials used in nuclear fission. The reaction is also safer from nuclear meltdown, as fission reactions slow once fusion stops creating neutrons, as Asia Times noted.

This Xinghuo project is expected to generate 100 megawatts of grid-connected electricity, as the IE report explained, which is roughly equivalent to powering 100,000 homes. 

Fusion has been praised as the holy grail for energy generation, with a predicted ability to produce unlimited amounts of clean energy, at low costs, and without any harmful byproducts. 

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If successful, these types of reactors could help humankind achieve its sustainability goals by reducing pollution and shifting away from burning dirty fuels for power. 

According to the Asia Times report, the project's timeline begins with completing the facility's design this year, followed by equipment production, assembly, and testing. Completion of its first phase is expected by 2031, although it's not clear if actual power generation will be ready by that time. 

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