China tests non-nuclear hydrogen bomb, science paper shows

The weapon generates a white-hot fireball that lasts 15 times longer than TNT’s fleeting flash

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Chinese scientists used a 2kg bomb to generate a fireball that lasted 15 times longer than an equivalent TNT blast, according to a new study. Photo: 705 Research Institute

Published: 10:00am, 20 Apr 2025

Chinese researchers have successfully detonated a hydrogen-based explosive device in a controlled field test, triggering devastating chemical chain reactions without using any nuclear materials, according to a study published last month.

The 2kg (4.4lbs) bomb generated a fireball exceeding 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) for more than two seconds – 15 times longer than equivalent TNT blasts – without using any nuclear materials, it said.

Developed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) 705 Research Institute, a key player in underwater weapon systems, the device uses a magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage material.

This material – a silvery powder known as magnesium hydride – stores considerably more hydrogen than a pressurised tank. It was originally developed to bring the gas to off-grid areas, where it could power fuel cells for clean electricity and heat.

When activated by conventional explosives, the magnesium hydride underwent rapid thermal decomposition, releasing hydrogen gas that ignited into a sustained inferno, the researchers said in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese-language Journal of Projectiles, Rockets, Missiles and Guidance.

“Hydrogen gas explosions ignite with minimal ignition energy, have a broad explosion range, and unleash flames that race outward rapidly while spreading widely,” said the team, led by CSSC research scientist Wang Xuefeng.