In the secondary market, the sustainability of a hot new theme often hinges on whether its sector can continuously achieve new progress in policy, capital, or industrial aspects. Take controlled nuclear fusion as an example: once considered a distant ultimate energy solution, it is now witnessing accelerated capital inflows against a backdrop of frequent supportive policy "tailwinds," while industrial development has also pressed the "fast-forward button." Under the combined effect of multiple favorable factors, related concept stocks in the capital market have shown frequent unusual activity. In the Hong Kong stock market, stocks like CGN Mining (01164), SH Electric (02727), and DONGFANG ELEC (01072) have benefited from intensive catalysts in the nuclear fusion field, with their stock prices becoming repeatedly active since 2025. The underlying logic behind the sector's excitement is naturally the market's expectation that controlled nuclear fusion is about to enter a critical development phase. On the policy front, the "Atomic Energy Law of the People's Republic of China," which explicitly "encourages and supports controlled thermonuclear fusion," officially came into effect this month, delineating boundaries and providing institutional safeguards for fusion energy innovation. On the capital front, recent news emerged from the primary market that Shanghai Star Ring Fusion Technology Co., Ltd. completed a Series A financing round of 10 billion yuan, setting a new record for single-round financing among domestic peers. Almost simultaneously, Energy Singularity Energy Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. announced that its high-temperature superconducting magnet, after excitation, achieved a magnetic field strength breakthrough of 20.8 Tesla (Tesla is the unit of magnetic flux density; magnetic field strength directly determines fusion power density, a core indicator for achieving device miniaturization). The latest industrial development was last week's 2026 Nuclear Fusion Energy Technology and Industry Conference, where multiple major procurement projects and fusion joint laboratory projects were signed collectively, and key listed companies in the controlled nuclear fusion sector, such as SH Electric, had exhibition booths. With industrial development advancing vigorously, could the controlled nuclear fusion sector become the next "goldmine" in the Hong Kong stock market? The intensive发酵 of favorable factors is heating up investment sentiment. Scientifically, nuclear fusion is the process where two light atomic nuclei fuse into a heavier nucleus under extreme temperature and pressure, releasing vast amounts of energy. Driven by both sustained growth in energy demand and the low-carbon transition, controlled nuclear fusion, with its nearly limitless fuel supply, extremely high energy density, and inherent safety features, is widely regarded by the market as the ultimate solution to humanity's energy challenges. In recent years, propelled by technological iteration and industrial capital, controlled nuclear fusion is accelerating its crossing of the critical threshold from laboratory research to engineering validation. According to incomplete statistics from relevant institutions, the expected investment in China's major nuclear fusion projects is projected to reach 146.5 billion yuan, with the industry gradually entering a capital expenditure expansion cycle from 2025 to 2028, potentially driving volume growth in related industrial chain orders. As capital on a scale exceeding one hundred billion yuan successively enters the field, the progress of nuclear fusion industrialization is expected to accelerate. The year 2025, in a sense, can be considered the "First Year of Fusion." During this year, policy, industry, and capital formed a virtuous cycle of resonance: at the policy level, nuclear fusion was included in law for the first time and incorporated into the "16th Five-Year Plan" for future industries; on the industrial front, facilities like EAST and HL-3 repeatedly set records, BEST entered final assembly and conducted large-scale tenders, and key CRAFT facilities commenced operations - this series of positive changes signals the industry's transition from scientific research to the initial stages of engineering and industrialization. As for capital, the entry of central state-owned enterprises holds significant symbolic meaning, with the national team's implementation platform largely taking shape, while diversified capital is also accelerating its influx. Following this industry "preheating," controlled nuclear fusion is expected to enter an intensive capital expenditure phase starting in 2026. Firstly, regarding demand, AI computing power is triggering exponential growth in global electricity demand. According to International Energy Agency data, global data center electricity consumption is increasing at an annual rate of 12%, projected to reach 945 TWh by 2030, with large AI data centers potentially consuming up to 2 GWh annually, equivalent to the total electricity usage of tens of thousands of households. Against this backdrop, the importance of controlled nuclear fusion as the "ultimate energy source" is undoubtedly increasing daily. The surging demand is undoubtedly the best catalyst forcing change on the supply side. To cope with exponentially growing electricity demand, a series of experimental reactor projects within the controlled nuclear fusion industry are entering intensive phases of equipment procurement, tendering, and construction. From a global perspective, the overall progress of China and the United States is at the forefront worldwide. China's BEST experimental reactor, led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has set a goal of achieving ignition by 2027, while the Spark-I engineering hybrid reactor project, led by Jiangxi Lianchuang Superconductor and China National Nuclear Corporation, aims for a Q-value greater than 30 in the 2030s. US commercial fusion company Helion has signed a power purchase agreement with Microsoft, expecting to connect the world's first commercial nuclear fusion generator to the grid and deliver power to Microsoft by 2028. Similarly, US commercial fusion company CFS has signed a power purchase agreement with Google, aiming to deliver 200 megawatts of electricity in the 2030s. As the industry moves from its "first year" into a substantive capital expenditure phase, the investment value of the industrial chain is also beginning to crystallize, forming a "long slope with thick snow" type of track stretching from upstream raw materials, midstream equipment, to downstream nuclear power applications. Referencing the development trajectories of emerging industries like photovoltaics and electric vehicles, investment themes in the secondary market often follow the path of "expectation-driven valuation increase - order and performance verification - valuation differentiation and digestion." Undoubtedly, controlled nuclear fusion is currently in the first, expectation-driven stage, where market optimism regarding technological breakthroughs and industrial prospects is the primary driver of sector activity. Learning from history, new energy sectors typically show the most prominent stock price performance during periods of strong policy expectations and technological aspiration, whereas valuation centers often experience some contraction upon entering phases of large-scale capacity deployment and performance realization. Understanding the tune from the song, investors currently looking at the controlled nuclear fusion field similarly need to grasp the rhythm appropriately. Specifically regarding investment targets, the Hong Kong stock market already offers several options. Looking upstream, a subsidiary of Tiangong International recently officially joined the "Joint Laboratory for High-End Metal Material R&D for Fusion." It is reported that this laboratory focuses on the major material requirements for magnetic confinement fusion devices, systematically conducting basic research, key technology攻关, and engineering verification of high-end metal materials for fusion, aiming to provide highly reliable material and system solutions for national energy security and future clean energy development. In the midstream of the industrial chain, SH Electric's positioning is very clear. As a leading domestic high-end equipment manufacturer, SH Electric is deeply involved in the national fusion engineering chain, having successfully developed core equipment like the world's largest TF coil case, achieving multiple "zero to one" breakthroughs. Simultaneously, the company has also made leading progress in the field of fourth-generation advanced fission reactors, building a full-spectrum future nuclear energy equipment system covering "nuclear fusion - advanced fission - traditional nuclear power" through systematic technological innovation. Promisingly, SH Electric's comprehensive technical capabilities are expected to allow it to continuously benefit from the nation's strategic investments in the nuclear energy sector. Furthermore, companies like DONGFANG ELEC, leveraging their technical积累 in the energy equipment field, are also expected to find their niche in the fusion energy conversion环节. CGN Mining is another target worth watching, as the global nuclear power renaissance and structural tightness in uranium supply and demand will directly drive its performance. According to calculations by Caixin Securities, for every $10 per pound increase in the uranium price, CGN Mining's annual net profit will increase by 380 million yuan. In summary, the controlled nuclear fusion industry indeed possesses the characteristics of a "long slope with thick snow," where the wave of technological progress and capital expenditure will bring long-term and substantial imaginative space to all segments of the industrial chain. For investors, this is undoubtedly a strategic track worthy of long-term attention and tracking. However, it is also crucial to soberly recognize that the journey from engineering validation to commercial power generation still requires overcoming numerous scientific and engineering challenges; the industrialization process is destined to be lengthy and accompanied by uncertainty. At the current stage, it is advisable to focus on companies that are already deeply embedded in national projects, possess solid technical strength, and can provide an earnings safety cushion through their existing businesses. While embracing the long-term trend, investors also need to be vigilant against purely thematic speculation detached from fundamentals and the risks associated with excessive short-term price increases in some companies.
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