CNMC Contributes to the Core Component of "Artificial Sun" to be Made in China

Recently, good news came from the China International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center (ITER Center): The core component of the world's largest "artificial sun", the first wall of enhanced heat load, known as the ITER "firewall", has made significant progress in the development and completed the manufacturing of prototype. Its core indicators are significantly better than the design requirements, and has fulfilled the conditions for mass manufacturing. This marks a comprehensive breakthrough in China's key technology of "ITER first wall of enhanced heat load" and China's role of leading this core technology continuously.

Funding by the CNMC and serving as the research and development unit of beryllium tile products, the key material of the first wall of ITER enhanced heat load, CNMC NingXia Orient Group Co., Ltd. (CNMNC), has successfully developed beryllium tile products with various performance indicators that fully meet the design requirements of ITER projects under the guidance of ITER Center, which has effectively contributed to the core component of the world's first "artificial sun" to be made in China. The preparation of CNMNC beryllium materials has reached the international advanced level since then, completing the "counteroffensive" from following and keeping-up to leading.

The ITER project, fully known as the "International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Project", is currently the world's largest and most far-reaching international scientific and technological cooperation project, also commonly known as the "artificial sun", the purpose of which is to simulate the nuclear fusion reaction inside the sun to produce energy, proving that the power generation by nuclear fusion can achieve commercial application scale, and provide clean and unlimited energy source for the future development of human society. China has undertaken project-related tasks under the leadership of the China International Nuclear Fusion Energy Program Execution Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology of PRC.

As the only beryllium processing base in China as well as the "national team" of China's beryllium industry, CNMNC cherishes the greatness of the country and is committed to the heavy industries of the country, and has undertaken the important task of supplying the "armor" materials of the first wall of enhanced heat load, contributing the strength of CNMNC to the prototype of the core component of world's largest "artificial sun" to be made in China, providing important "Chinese wisdom" and "Chinese solutions" for the ITER program. CNMNC has begun to participate in the international scientific and technological cooperation of ITER project since 2008. After continuous exploration of the process, it has achieved major breakthroughs in key materials and key technologies, passed the international ITER material certification in 2010, and been successfully included in the list of suppliers of the beryllium material of the first wall of enhanced heat load. In 2021, the ITER Center of the Ministry of Science and Technology issued and implemented the special standard for nuclear fusion procurement package "Vacuum Hot-Pressed High-Purity Beryllium for Fusion Reactors" developed by the Northwest Rare Metal Materials Institute of CNMNC.

Contact person: Wang Keli

Tel:0086-13886467228

E-mail: wangkl@somidez.com