Longest sustained nuclear fusion reaction

The longest sustained fusion reaction was achieved by researchers working on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. On 30 Dec 2022 the reactor maintained fusion at 70 million degrees celsius for 17 minutes 36 seconds.

The EAST reactor is operated by the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its purpose is to conduct research into nuclear fusion, and evaluate technologies for future, potentially power-generating reactor designs. The EAST team are part of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) a massive global scientific collaboration that brings together data gathered from similar facilities such as the Joint European Torus in Oxfordshire, UK, and the National Ignition Facility in California, USA.