China Just Achieved a World-First Fusion Reaction Using Clean Hydrogen-Boron Fuel

Chinese clean energy company ENN Group just pulled off a nuclear fusion first. Inside a spherical tokamak reactor, engineers used lasers and radio waves to spark a brief fusion reaction powered by hydrogen-boron fuel, a combination that produces helium and energy without any radioactive waste.

The secret sauce? Fast protons that acted as a catalyst, pushing the reaction rate past 100 million reactions per second. An international team of visiting scientists reviewed the results and unanimously called the achievement significant and valuable. ENN’s next target is pushing their plasma to a blistering 100 million degrees Celsius, the threshold needed for practical fusion power.

Why should you care? Fusion is the holy grail of clean energy: unlimited power, no emissions, no long-lived nuclear waste. Hydrogen-boron fuel sidesteps the cost and radiation headaches of the standard fuel, and the race is now heating up between China, the US, and Europe. So tell us: if fusion energy hits the grid in your lifetime, what would you want it to power first?