China's groundbreaking nuclear fusion reactor that has been dubbed as an "artificial sun" is officially switched on. The reactor holds the record for being able to sustain temperatures five times hotter than our sun for over 17 minutes (or at least according to Chinese state media).

Called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), the artificial sun touched temperatures of 70,000,000 degree Celsius during experiments, China's Xinhua news agency reported. Revolutionizing clean energy If the claim holds weight, it could revolutionize the way China creates and absorbs clean energy.

For starters, the goal is to deliver endless supply of clean energy by imitating similar reactions that take place in stars like our sun. The project has cost China a whopping $943 billion and the experiment is expected to run until June, 2022.

Scientists believe nuclear fusion could help humans maximize clean energy production. But the development of such tech is extremely difficult - even after decades of research, nuclear fusion reactors can only generate energy in lab settings.