China’s ENN Group Hopes to Produce Electricity Via Hydrogen-Boron Nuclear Fusion by 2030

      China’s ENN Group just broke ground on its ENN Fusion Spherical Ring Hydrogen-Boron Plasma Platform, or Helong-2, from which it hopes to generate its first electricity by 2030. The groundbreaking happened on September 15 at ENN's fusion R&D center in Hebei's Langfang Economic and Technological Development Zone.

     I have not written much about nuclear fusion on this blog mainly because the technology is not ready. I have my doubts about China’s timeline here as well, but the more concrete plans for electricity production in three years are the best I have seen. There are several other interesting fusion projects and pilots happening as well. I will likely write about them if and when they get closer to reality. TAE Technologies in the United States and Marvel Fusion in Germany are companies pursuing hydrogen-boron fusion technology.

     According to The Cool Down:

“ENN says the project is meant to create a "world-leading" hydrogen-boron fusion experimental platform built around more than 10 core systems; the Helong-2 complex will span about 120 acres.”

“If the schedule holds, experiments would start by the end of 2027 after construction and commissioning are finished, and the site should be ready for equipment installation by the end of June 2027.”

“Also called proton-boron fusion, the reaction pairs a hydrogen proton with boron-11 to produce helium nuclei and energy. ENN is targeting 2030 for the project's first electricity from hydrogen-boron fusion.”

     According to World Nuclear News:

“Hydrogen-boron fusion is an advanced nuclear fusion reaction that combines a hydrogen proton with a boron-11 nucleus to produce harmless helium nuclei (alpha particles) and energy without releasing high-energy neutrons.”

     ENN maintains a three-step commercialization strategy for hydrogen-boron fusion, beginning with Xuanlong-50 and Xuanlong-50U, its first two hydrogen-boron fusion devices. Step 1 is for Xuanlong-50U to achieve a hydrogen-boron fusion reaction in 2026. Step 2 is finishing Helong-2 in 2027 and producing fusion power by 2030. Step 3 is having a demonstration reactor producing low-cost electricity by 2035.

"Helong-2, as the third-generation fusion device built by ENN, is a key engineering platform for moving towards a fusion smart power plant," said Yu Jianchao, Chairman of ENN Group. "It carries the important mission of breaking through key technologies of hydrogen-boron fusion and exploring new paths for future energy. It is an important milestone in the commercialisation of hydrogen-boron fusion by ENN and an important step on the road to commercialisation of fusion energy in China."

 

References:

 

China breaks ground on Helong-2 fusion platform, set to produce first hydrogen-boron electricity by 2030.Leigh Cook. The Cool Down. September 21, 2026. China breaks ground on Helong-2 fusion platform, set to produce first hydrogen-boron electricity by 2030

China begins building hydrogen-boron fusion device. World Nuclear News. September 16, 2026. China begins building hydrogen-boron fusion device - World Nuclear News