Thailand debuts first tokamak with help of Chinese scientists in milestone for Southeast Asia’s clean energy research

The reactor, which mimics the nuclear fusion process of the sun, is the first for an Asean member and is upgraded from an earlier one built by China
Fusion energy is produced without creating greenhouse gases or nuclear radioactive waste, making it ideal for a carbon-neutral future

Science

Echo Xie

Published: 7:35pm, 26 Jul 2023

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With the help of Chinese scientists, Thailand debuted its first tokamak device – a machine designed to replicate the sun’s nuclear fusion process – in a milestone for sustainable energy research and scientific cooperation between the countries.

The Thailand Tokamak-1, which started operating on Tuesday, is a joint effort between the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Plasma Physics in the southeastern city of Hefei.

The device is the first tokamak for a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Thailand is expected to design and build its own tokamak for domestic use in the next decade, with an aim to become Southeast Asia’s hub for fusion technology development, according to the Thai Public Broadcasting Service.

Thai and Chinese researchers team up on frontiers of science

The device is a “fruitful result” of nuclear fusion cooperation between China and Thailand in recent years, said the state-run China News Service, adding that the Institute of Plasma Physics would continue cooperation with its counterparts in Thailand.

Fusion energy is considered the “ultimate energy” for a carbon-neutral future because the process of creating it does not emit greenhouse gases or nuclear radioactive waste. Its major by-product is helium, an inert, non-toxic gas.

Scientists have conducted research on fusion for decades with the aim of finding a sustainable and cost-effective way to meet the world’s energy demands. They want to build fusion devices that mimic the fusion reaction of the sun and other stars.

In the fusion reaction that powers the sun, hydrogen nuclei collide and fuse into heavier helium atoms, releasing tremendous amounts of energy during the process.

Fusion reactions take place in a state of matter called plasma – a hot, charged gas – at temperatures of around 10 million degrees Celsius, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

01:20

China sets new world record in development of ‘artificial sun’

China is at the forefront of nuclear fusion research. Its “artificial sun” – the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei – set a world record in April by running for 403 seconds in a “high-constraint mode” plasma operation, breaking its previous record of 101 seconds set in May 2021.

The Thailand Tokamak-1 was upgraded from the HT-6M, a tokamak device developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics in 1984. The device was officially decommissioned in 2002 after 18 years of operation, according to the institute.

In 2017, the Institute of Plasma Physics signed a cooperation agreement with the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology and announced it would donate the tokamak to Thailand.

The Chinese institute said it would help Thailand install and operate the facility and cultivate talent in the field of fusion energy research and development.

“After signing the agreement with Thailand, the Institute of Plasma Physics has fully upgraded the HT-6M device and its subsystems, which has substantially improved the device’s performance,” the institute said on its website.

Chinese donation fuels Thailand’s fusion energy research

The tokamak device passed a completion inspection and was delivered to the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology in December 2022.

“The whole facility is composed of 462 major parts, weighing over 84 tonnes (93 tons). They will be shipped to Thailand in six containers,” Huang Yiyun, a key member of the project, was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua in November 2022.

About 60 Chinese technicians were sent to Thailand to help assemble, adjust and test the machine before the official launch, it added.

Previously, a group of nine scientists from Thailand came to Hefei for a three-month training programme to learn how to operate the tokamak.

The first successful test of the device happened on April 21, according to Nopporn Poolyarat, head of the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology’s nuclear fusion and plasma division, speaking to the Post in May.

“On that morning we still had some problems to fix. Later in the afternoon, we tried again and suddenly we got the first breakdown,” he said, referring to a transition from gas to plasma.

“Everyone was happy. Even though it was a small breakdown, at least we saw plasma.”