Tiangong International (00826) won the bid for the BEST vacuum chamber window shielding system (powder metallurgy high boron steel) project

The Zhitong Finance App learned that recently, Jiangsu Tiangong Aihe Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Tiangong International Co., Ltd. (00826), successfully won the public tender for the “Vacuum Chamber Window Shielding System (Powder Metallurgy High Boron Steel)” project, with a bid price of 2.376 million yuan. This marks that Tiangong Powder Metallurgy High Boron Steel has officially entered the nuclear fusion device component supply stage from material research and development. The tenderer this time, Fusion New Energy (Anhui) Co., Ltd., is the main contractor for the construction and procurement of BEST (Compact Fusion Energy Test Device). Tiangong's bid directly served this major project in the country.

The BEST device is a next-generation fusion energy combustion test device independently developed by China. The goal is to simulate nuclear fusion reactions within the Sun on Earth and verify the engineering feasibility of controlled fusion commercial power generation. Compared with traditional international thermonuclear fusion experimental reactors (ITER), BEST follows the “compact high-field” technology route: the diameter of the main engine was reduced to 18 meters, the total weight was about 6,000 tons, and the volume was only one-quarter of ITER, but by using high-temperature superconducting magnets, the magnetic field strength was greatly increased, and the fusion power density was significantly increased. This route aims to pioneer the bridge from scientific experiments to engineering applications at lower construction costs and a more compact device scale.

According to the plan, the BEST installation aims to complete overall construction by the end of 2027 and launch a deuterium-tritium fusion power generation demonstration around 2030. At present, the construction of the main unit of the device has entered the key attack stage of the “four-ring package”, that is, starting with the innermost vacuum chamber, and installing cold screens, circumferential field magnets, and internal precision components in sequence. The “vacuum chamber window shielding system” that Tiangong won the bid for this time is a key neutron shielding component in the vacuum chamber window area. The BEST vacuum chamber has 16 slanted windows. The window area requires reliable neutron shielding materials to ensure the safety of operation of the device and dose control of the surrounding environment. Powder metallurgy high boron steel is an ideal candidate material for this area due to its balance of neutron absorption capacity and engineering toughness due to its high boron content.

For Tiangong, BEST is not only an order, but also a key platform for completing component-level verification of its powder metallurgy high boron steel materials on real fusion devices. If the product performs steadily in BEST construction, it will accumulate valuable engineering performance for subsequent entry into the CFEDR (China Fusion Engineering Demonstration Reactor) supply chain.