Nuclear fusion: a new era of energy revolution, driven by capital and technology. There are three technical routes for controlled nuclear fusion (gravitational confinement, inertial confinement and magnetic confinement), among which tokamak magnetic confinement fusion is the international mainstream technical route. Since 2020, the governments of China, the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries have promoted the research and development and application of nuclear fusion technology through the formulation of national strategies and industrial policies, and as of July 24, the nuclear fusion industry has attracted more than 7.1 billion US dollars of investment. The demand for AI computing power has surged, and technology giants have accelerated their deployment in the field of nuclear energy, and in terms of technology selection preferences, they have relied on the restart of existing nuclear power infrastructure (such as Three Mile Island) or SMR deployment in the short term to quickly meet the demand for AI computing power. In the medium and long term, it will focus on nuclear fusion, aiming to achieve a commercial breakthrough. At the same time, the advantages of AI in data analysis, intelligent prediction, and real-time control are becoming an important force to promote the research and application of nuclear fusion. Controlled nuclear fusion is regarded as one of the most promising clean energy sources in the future, and its realization will provide strong and stable power support for AI, and the two complement each other and develop together.

Core technology breakthroughs and device iterations, the commercialization process is accelerating, and the BEST project is open to intensive bidding. In recent years, fusion devices in the United States, Europe, Japan and other countries have continued to achieve milestone test breakthroughs, and in February 25, Helion Energy, an American nuclear fusion commercial company, announced plans to build the world's first nuclear fusion power plant in Malaga, Washington. China's nuclear fusion is also gradually moving towards engineering applications, such as China's self-designed and developed the world's first "fully superconducting non-circular section tokamak" nuclear fusion experimental device EAST, in January 25, to achieve more than 100 million degrees of 1066.76 seconds of high-confinement mode plasma operation, the follow-up BEST project has been completed with the first roof pouring smoothly in early March, aiming to promote fusion energy from the laboratory to commercial application. The industrial chain has ushered in intensive bidding. Fusion New Energy and the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have announced a number of tender announcements, covering water pumps for water cooling systems, 6000T cooling towers for water cooling systems and medium-pressure and high-pressure helium purifiers.

Superconducting magnets + deflectors are a key component of the tokamak. Superconducting magnets account for almost half of the cost of a tokamak. At present, the yield rate of high-temperature superconducting wire rod has been increased to 90%, and the development of high-temperature superconducting technology can shorten the construction period of controllable nuclear fusion devices, so that fusion power generation has initial commercial potential. The deflector is the main area where the central plasma interacts with the fusion material, and its performance directly affects the operational safety and service life of the fusion device.

Investment suggestion: It is recommended to pay attention to the core components supplier of nuclear fusion, Heforging Intelligent (603011. SH), superconducting material supplier Western Superconductor (688122. SH) and Lianchuang Optoelectronics (600363.SH) and deflector supplier Guoguang Electric (688776.SH), optimistic about the nuclear power equipment leader Dongfang Electric (600875.SH) and the nuclear-grade valve leader China Nuclear Technology (000777. SZ), a nuclear-grade material supplier, should flow shares (603308. SH) and the majority of special materials (688186.SH) and so on. In addition, in terms of nuclear power operation and construction, it is recommended to pay attention to the industry leader China Nuclear Power (601985. SH), China General Nuclear Power Corporation (003816. SZ), China Nuclear Construction (601611. SH) and so on.

Risk warning: policy implementation is less than expected, technology iteration risk, security accident risk.