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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

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Chinese and Thai scientists work together to assemble and install the Thailand Tokamak-1. Photo: Handout
Echo Xie
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.
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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.

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.
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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.

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