Recently a superconductor-production line has been put into operation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) research center, which is being set up in Hefei, Anhui province by seven countries including China and the US.
The Hefei-based Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) takes part in the establishment of the ITER research center.
The 1000-meter-long production line is capable of making superconductors which are used in tokamaks, or "man-made suns".
"Its output varies with the thermonuclear fusion reactor plans," said Li Jiangang, head of the Institute of Plasma Physics, adding that an ITER power source laboratory, which is due to be completed in early July, is still under construction.
The superconductor program was initiated in 2006. It took four years to build the manufacturing hall and production line.
"It was time-consuming for the program to go through all the necessary procedures," Li said, "besides, environmental protection authorities needed to assess the environment around, because the construction site is close to the Dongpu Reservoir, the city's waterhead." (Anhuinews.com)
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