TIANGONG INT'L (00826) secures first nuclear fusion materials order, marking a key milestone in its high-end strategy

TIANGONG INT'L (00826) has recently seen a stream of positive news and catalysts. Earlier, the strong pre-orders for the iPhone Duo pushed TIANGONG INT'L, a core supplier of Apple's titanium alloy materials, into the market spotlight. Just days later, news emerged that TIANGONG INT'L had successfully won a bid for components for a nuclear fusion device. It was observed that on the evening of October 27, TIANGONG INT'L announced that its indirect subsidiary Jiangsu Tiangong Aihe Technology Co., Ltd. (Tiangong Aihe) had been selected as the winning bidder for the vacuum vessel lower port shielding system (powder metallurgy high-boron steel) project of Fusion New Energy (Anhui) Co., Ltd. (Fusion New Energy). According to the announcement, Tiangong Aihe will supply approximately 4 tonnes of powder metallurgy high-boron steel components to Fusion New Energy for the Compact Fusion Energy Experimental Device (BEST device), with a total amount of RMB2.376 million, and production, processing and delivery to be completed within 9 months after contract signing. Although the winning bid amount is in the millions, it is of great significance to TIANGONG INT'L. First, winning the BEST bid is a milestone for TIANGONG INT'L's fusion materials moving from "R&D validation" to "engineering delivery," marking that the company's "powder metallurgy + hot isostatic pressing" process route has obtained component-level validation for a national major project, rather than remaining at the laboratory sample level. This is the company's first component-level engineering order in the nuclear fusion field. Second, the BEST device is a key pilot platform in Fusion New Energy's three-step path of "BESTCFEDRcommercial fusion reactor." TIANGONG INT'L's entry into its supply chain accumulates engineering track record and first-mover positioning advantages for subsequent shielding material tenders for larger-scale devices such as CFEDR. According to public industry estimates, CFEDR is planned to start construction in 2030 and be completed around 2045, with total investment of up to RMB120 billion, of which equipment investment is approximately RMB72 billion. Referring to ITER, the world's largest nuclear fusion experimental reactor under construction in France, its shielding blocks (radiation-proof blocks made of high-boron steel) have a total weight of approximately 1,650 tonnes. CFEDR is a larger and more advanced version than ITER, with a larger vacuum vessel and thicker shielding layers. The market therefore predicts that CFEDR's shielding material usage will be 2 to 3.5 times that of ITER, meaning CFEDR's high-boron steel demand is expected to be between 3,300 tonnes and 5,775 tonnes, corresponding to a market space that may reach the billion-level. This is undoubtedly a huge potential increment. If Tiangong Aihe's subsequent delivery and validation proceed smoothly, the company is expected to convert the engineering track record from the BEST project into supply chain barriers for subsequent tenders, thereby substantively opening up TIANGONG INT'L's long-term growth space in the high-end nuclear energy materials track. In addition, winning the BEST bid is another key piece of evidence of TIANGONG INT'L's accelerated leap from a special steel leader to a high-end materials platform. In recent years, TIANGONG INT'L has pursued its high-end strategy from both ends: "product upgrading" and "scenario expansion." On the product side, the share of high-value-added products in the revenue structure has continued to rise, which is also the core reason why the company's net profit growth rate in the first half of 2026 was nearly 6 percentage points higher than its revenue growth rate, achieving double-digit growth. Now, with the first component-level engineering order landed in the nuclear fusion materials field, the effectiveness of the new track layout has been validated first. TIANGONG INT'L's growth space is expected to be further raised under "multi-polar resonance," and its intrinsic value is expected to be released at an accelerated pace, thereby driving a revaluation of the company.