The Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology (Tint) will begin operating Thailand Tokamak-1 (TT-1), the country's first experimental machine designed to harness fusion energy, in March, said its director Thawatchai Onchan.
Mr Thawatchai said TT-1 is located in Nakhon Nayok province. It was donated by the Institute of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), China. The device serves as a starting point for research, skill development, and future global collaboration in fusion development.
With the support of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), Tint sent eight experts, including scientists and electronic engineers, to the ASIPP in July for a three-week training course to learn how to use the device. He said after the course was finished, the ASIPP sent experts to coach the Thai team on testing, which led to the TT-1's first successful plasma confinement in August.
Five engineers from the ASIPP are now at the Tint's office in Nakhon Nayok's Ongkharak district to evaluate TT-1 sites before operations begin in March, according to Mr Thawatchai.
Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI) Minister Anek Laothamatas said TT-1 was a gift the Chinese government gave to the country as a salute to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, making Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia that owns a tokamak device.
The TT-1, developed with the ASIPP, drives itself using heat from nuclear fusion reactions like the natural reaction that happens in the Sun. According to the Tint, the device is expected to heat up to 100,000C when it is operated, and the temperature is tipped to reach 1 million C in the future.
The Tint reportedly plans to build the country's first in-house device, which can be heated up to 10 million C using a superconducting magnet.
Mr Anek said the tokamak device would be used to develop one of the country's primary sources of clean energy.
Nearly 40 countries use nuclear energy as a main source to produce electricity.