China's commercial nuclear fusion enters an intense "fundraising" era

Ask AI · Why can “shovel sellers” among fusion enterprises enjoy the fusion dividend first?

21st Century Business Herald Reporter Zhao Yunfan

Recently, the commercial fusion company Nova Fusion Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. held the groundbreaking ceremony for its “Nova One” fusion device construction plant. Public information shows that the company adopts the Field-Reversed Configuration (FRC) technology route, targeting the commercialization of small modular fusion reactors.

Nova Fusion’s founder, chairman, and CEO Dr. Guo Houyang said that the company has made breakthroughs in core system R&D, including high-power semiconductor switches, magnet design, manufacturing ultra-large-diameter quartz tubes, and nanosecond-level control and data acquisition.

At the end of March, Nova Fusion announced that it had completed angel-round financing, and that shareholders included Hangzhou Haoyue Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. under Alibaba and Henan Shangqihui Rongshangcheng No. 1 Industrial Fund Partnership (Limited Partnership) under SAIC, among others.

According to the plan, the company’s fusion device will discharge for the first time at the end of 2026, and it plans to complete high-temperature physics validation in 2027.

As it happens, in the same month of March, “Yanchaofusion,” a representative company in China’s stellarator route, completed over 100 million yuan in angel+ round financing, with joint investments from Honglida, Hongyuan Investment, and others. The company is about to launch a Pre-A round, and more than 50% of the quota has already been subscribed. This is one of the few financing cases in China’s domestic non-tokamak mainstream routes.

Looking at the beginning of 2026, not only are new entrants such as Xinghuan Fusion receiving generous investments, but also “shovel sellers” in fusion that focus on AI algorithms, magnet materials, and special ignition—such as New Candle Era, Quafu Superconductors, and Jinyi Energy—have begun to attract significant attention from the market in large numbers.

Meanwhile, judging by the financing progress, as commercial fusion enterprises “kick off” fusion demonstration devices, the first wave of “shovel sellers” has begun entering the financing market and starting to scale their business first, which may become a capital-market hotspot for a period after 2026.

“Latecomer advantages” attract capital frenzy

In the past, controllable nuclear fusion was viewed as the “Holy Grail” in the energy sector, but its development trajectory has always been like in thick fog, and industry participants have found it difficult to provide a specific commercialization timetable.

After entering 2025, with the maturation of magnetic confinement technology, the rise of AI-assisted fusion R&D, and also AI computing power forcing demand for electricity, the commercialization of fusion has gone from being extremely difficult to now an industry that can provide a relatively clear timetable.

In February this year, Shanghai Energy Singularity Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Energy Singularity”) announced that its independently developed world’s first full high-temperature superconducting tokamak device “Honghuang 70” successfully achieved steady-state long-pulse plasma operation for 1,337 seconds.

What is interesting is that the “1,337 seconds” officially announced by Energy Singularity matches the “1,337 seconds” achieved last year by France’s “WEST Plan” full-tungsten divertor tokamak fusion experimental device to the second—meaning that instead of merely “setting a record,” Energy Singularity’s remote “muscle show” carries even stronger implications.

France’s “WEST Plan” is based on Tore Supra, one of the earliest fusion projects. It underwent large-scale upgrades in 2013, took shape for the first time in 2016, and in May 2024 it became a world-class fusion project that obtained a new milestone for the first time. From ignition to achieving the milestone, the overall time is about 8 years. By comparison, Energy Singularity’s “Honghuang 70” began construction in 2022, and the device’s overall assembly was completed in early 2024. And from ignition in mid-2024 to reaching the milestone, the time was less than two years.

Behind the greatly shortened milestone timeframe are global breakthroughs in magnetic confinement technology, as well as the emergence of AI large-model technology development that helps support end-to-end control of controllable nuclear fusion. At the same time, increasing maturity in technology and project management has made the visibility of investments in commercial controllable nuclear fusion higher, and financing for related companies has become smoother.

According to an incomplete count by the reporter, on January 12 this year, Xinghuan Fusion completed 1 billion yuan in Series A financing, setting a record for the largest single-round financing among domestic private fusion enterprises. In February, China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) jointly established Zhongke Qingneng with Henan state-owned assets, completing nearly 500 million yuan in financing. Yanchaofusion, Chaomagnetic New Energy, and others all completed angel-round financings of several hundred million yuan.

On the other hand, the National Energy Administration has set up a 20 billion yuan “fusion industry fund,” and Shanghai Future Industry Fund’s scale has increased to 15 billion yuan—meaning that the ammunition for development of state-backed industries is already fully stocked. Private capital has also repeatedly tested the waters; besides investing in Nova Fusion, Alibaba, Energy Singularity has also attracted New Energy car startup NIO and gaming-industry emerging leader MiHoYo to participate.

“Shovel sellers” benefit first

Although it will take time for nuclear fusion to achieve a “Q value” greater than 1 (i.e., long-term stable discharge), the “shovel sellers” that drive technological progress are already approaching the time when they can capture the dividend.

From the timetable, from 2026 to 2028, the experimental devices of the above commercial fusion enterprises will gradually complete construction and implementation on the ground.

For example, Xinghuan Fusion’s first native negative-triangle (spherical) tokamak NTST device is expected to complete production and begin installation in August 2026, and it plans to start operations starting next year. The “Xinghuan No. 1” project validation device will begin construction starting in 2027, with installation expected to be completed in 2028.

Meanwhile, Yanchaofusion’s first-generation validation device for mixed high- and low-temperature hybrid superconducting stellarators is planned to start general construction at the beginning of this year, with construction completion before 2028.

Energy Singularity’s new project “Honghuang 170”—a strong magnetic-field compact high-temperature superconducting tokamak engineering prototype focusing on deuterium-tritium fusion—plans to begin construction and complete construction in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

It is worth noting that most commercial fusion companies are rooted in Shanghai, Hefei, and other places, and their number of applications for major fusion experimental projects ranks among the top nationwide. This is because China’s domestic nuclear energy industry is relatively mature, and regional “shovel sellers” may be able to benefit first.

For example, during the construction of “Honghuang 70,” key core equipment such as vacuum chambers is provided by Shanghai Electric Power Nuclear Power Group. According to the latest disclosures in its 2025 annual report and institutional research reports, Shanghai Electric is deeply involved in the country’s key fusion projects. Not only has it successfully delivered the world’s first ITER project magnet cold-test Dewar, it has also completed delivery of the CRAFT project’s TF coil box. Going forward, it will also undertake the manufacturing tasks of core components for multiple host systems, such as the BEST project.

In addition to Shanghai Electric, the A-share market has also seen a number of “hidden champions” with core competitiveness in niche fields.

Recently, the Hefei-listed company Hefei Hangdian Intelligent Manufacturing stated that the company has demonstrated unique manufacturing capabilities in controlled nuclear fusion applications. It not only has manufacturing technology for core components of tokamak devices, but it has also already obtained substantive orders. As NeoFusion’s tender solicitation volume exceeds 800 million yuan in the first quarter of 2026, Hefei Hangdian, as an important link in the supply chain, is expected to benefit directly from the industry’s tender volume expanding.

Baili Electric occupies an important position at the upstream materials end. Its controlling subsidiary Suzhou Guanlong Electromagnetic Co., Ltd. has completed the R&D and delivery of a new generation of nuclear radiation-resistant and high-temperature electromagnetic wire, which is a key material for manufacturing high-temperature superconducting magnets. Another controlling subsidiary, Liaoning Rongxin Xingye, also participates in the design and manufacturing of the ITER project’s reactive power compensation and filtering equipment.

In addition, companies such as Xuguang Electronics, CIMC Huanke, Guoguang Electric, Jingye Intelligent, Western Superconducting, and others also form close ties with the fusion industry chain in their respective niche areas.