On October 27, TIANGONG INT'L (00826.HK) issued a voluntary announcement that its indirect subsidiary Jiangsu Tiangong Aihe Technology Co., Ltd. has won the bid for the "Vacuum Vessel Lower Port Shielding System (Powder Metallurgy High-Boron Steel)" project of Fusion Xinneng (Anhui) Co., Ltd., with a contract value of RMB 2.376 million. The company will supply approximately 4 tonnes of powder metallurgy high-boron steel components to the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST), with manufacturing and delivery to be completed within nine months after contract signing. TIANGONG INT'L stated that this successful bid marks the group's powder metallurgy high-boron steel formally transitioning from the material R&D stage into the nuclear fusion device component supply stage. Industry observers noted that while the order amount is modest, its significance is substantial. During the critical window when controlled nuclear fusion is shifting from scientific experimentation to engineering validation, a single tender from a major scientific facility essentially issues an "engineering validation certificate" to material suppliers.
Fusion "Three-Step" Strategy Enters Engineering Validation Phase as BEST Becomes a Concentrated Proving Ground for Domestic Supply Chain
To understand this order, one must first grasp the development stage of domestic nuclear fusion. According to China's magnetic confinement nuclear fusion roadmap, the country's fusion energy exploration follows a "three-step" framework: EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) completes fundamental plasma physics experiments, BEST undertakes engineering validation and deuterium-tritium demonstration power generation, and ultimately CFEDR (China Fusion Engineering Demonstration Reactor) paves the way toward commercialization. A deep-dive report published by Guoyuan Securities in October 2026 pointed out that 2025 is the inaugural year of China's nuclear fusion engineering — EAST set a world record with stable operation at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, "China Circulator-3" achieved "double hundred-million-degree" operation, and BEST simultaneously commenced assembly. Domestic nuclear fusion is advancing from research-led exploration toward the engineering validation stage.
BEST occupies a particularly special position in this chain. Unlike the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which follows a large-scale approach, BEST adopts a "compact high-field" technical pathway: the main unit is 18 meters in diameter with a total weight of approximately 6,000 tonnes, only one-quarter the volume of ITER. It uses high-temperature superconducting magnets to dramatically increase magnetic field strength in exchange for higher power density, exploring a low-cost fusion engineering solution. According to the plan, BEST aims to be completed by the end of 2027 and conduct deuterium-tritium fusion power generation demonstrations around 2030. Main unit construction has entered the critical "four-ring assembly" phase, sequentially installing the vacuum vessel, cold shield, toroidal field magnets, and internal precision components from the inside out.
The Triple Positioning Value of a "Certification Order"
Taking a longer view, the value of this order lies in "positioning" rather than "revenue." For the company, this represents a substantive leap from material R&D to device component supply. Stable service data from BEST components constitutes the most critical qualification threshold for material companies bidding on the CFEDR demonstration reactor in the future. At the same time, the application scope of high-boron steel extends beyond fusion — scenarios such as nuclear fission spent fuel and nuclear waste storage and transport are equally applicable, opening the door to a broader nuclear industry materials market. For the industry, BEST itself represents an exploration of a differentiated domestic pathway, with domestic material support simultaneously adapting to compact high-field operating conditions, reserving homegrown suppliers proven under real-machine testing for the CFEDR batch tendering expected around 2035.
The broader context is the accelerating expansion of the fusion sector. According to estimates by Zheshang Securities, the global nuclear fusion equipment market's average annual incremental scale will grow from RMB 25.4 billion during 2021–2025 to RMB 1,086 billion during 2031–2035. Guoyuan Securities statistics show that total global fusion industry investment climbed from USD 1.9 billion in 2021 to USD 9.7 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of approximately 50.2%. The industry widely regards 2030–2035 as the critical window for fusion technology moving toward commercial validation.
Solving the "Boron Segregation" Challenge in High-Boron Steel as Tiangong Crosses from Material R&D to Component Supply
Specifically, the "Vacuum Vessel Lower Port Shielding System" that Tiangong Aihe won this bid for is a key neutron shielding component for the vacuum vessel port area. The BEST vacuum vessel has 16 lower inclined ports, and the port areas require reliable neutron shielding materials to ensure device operational safety and surrounding environmental dose control. High-boron steel offers both neutron and gamma ray shielding performance, effectively preventing neutron energy deposition from damaging superconducting magnets, making it a superior shielding material for fusion devices. Powder metallurgy technology, meanwhile, maintains high boron content while ensuring engineering strength and toughness, making it the preferred route for this application.
However, boron has low solubility in steel. Under traditional casting and forging processes, increasing boron content easily leads to segregation and network borides, raising the risk of embrittlement and cracking. Tiangong tackled the problem through its process pathway, using atomization powder production and hot isostatic pressing densification forming to reduce macro-segregation and optimize boride distribution. According to public remarks by the company's Chief Scientist Yu Yang, the company has developed 304B7 powder metallurgy high-boron steel (with 2% boron content) on an industrial scale for the first time in China, achieving an average tensile strength of 784.65 MPa and elongation of 20.20%, with comprehensive strength and toughness superior to traditional cast high-boron steel. Samples have been processed and tested for complex structural components according to the requirements of the French ITER team and sent to ITER.
From signing R&D agreements to winning the bid, Tiangong's high-boron steel industrialization took less than a year: in January 2026, Tiangong Aihe signed on to join the "Fusion High-End Metal Materials R&D Joint Laboratory" led by the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center Energy Research Institute, undertaking two tasks — large-scale tonne-level manufacturing of 304B7 high-boron steel and development of a new neutron shielding steel with boron equivalent greater than 3.2wt%. In May, industrialization results were publicly disclosed. In October, the BEST project bid was secured.
Supporting this progress is Tiangong's long-accumulated special steel and powder metallurgy manufacturing capability. As a global leader in tool and die steel, the company reported revenue of RMB 2.471 billion in the first half of 2026, up 5.5% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 226 million, up 11.2% year-on-year; and gross margin improved to 24.8%. The powder metallurgy segment has already shown the embryonic form of a second growth curve: first-half sales volume of 952 tonnes, average price of RMB 151,000 per tonne, gross margin exceeding 40%, and 66 product grades. As early as 2019, the company built China's first large-scale tool and die steel powder metallurgy production line, with annual capacity reaching 8,000–10,000 tonnes. From 2020 to 2025, sales volume grew at a compound annual rate of approximately 79%, and the company has been expanding into additive manufacturing, humanoid robotics, and other fields.
Market analysts commented that for Tiangong, this successful bid represents a ticket into the fusion new materials sector; for the domestic fusion industry chain, it is a substantive positioning move from material R&D toward engineering support. The company stated that if its products perform stably in BEST construction, it will accumulate valuable engineering track records for subsequently entering the CFEDR (China Fusion Engineering Demonstration Reactor) supply chain.
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