China tests hydrogen bomb 15 times stronger than TNT blasts: Report

Amid intense tariff war with the US, China has successfully tested a non-nuclear hydrogen bomb, a South China Morning Post report said on Monday. Weighing just 2 kgs, the device has been developed by 705 Research Institute of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the SCMP report added. The institute, which is known for its stellar work in the underwater weaponry, tested the device made from ‘magnesium-based solid-state hydrogen storage material’.

Commonly known as magnesium hydride, the silvery powder stores relatively more hydrogen as compared to a pressurised tank. The device was originally developed to bring the gas to remote areas, where the silvery powder was to be used to power fuel cells. This would have helped the Chinese establishment in producing clean electricity, the report added.

The non-nuclear hydrogen bomb is 15 times more powerful than around 15 TNT blasts, according to the peer-reviewed paper, which was published in the Journal of Projectiles, Rockets, Missiles and Guidance. The said journal is in Chinese language.

As per the paper, when the researchers activated magnesium hydride via conventional explosives, it witnessed quick thermal decomposition. This process released hydrogen gas that led to a massive, sustained inferno, the peer-reviewed paper stated.

Quoting CSSC's Wang Xuefeng, the research scientist leading the team that tested the non-nuclear hydrogen bomb, the SCMP report said that using minimal ignition energy, the hydrogen gas blasts can be controlled easily. The team also said that the blast of this hydrogen bomb can achieve "uniform destruction of targets across vast areas."

The research paper did not reveal how the material for the blast was sourced. Because, till now, magnesium hydride could only be produced in labs for some grams in a day. While the blast is being portrayed as an attempt by the Chinese administration to look for clean energy options, the possibility of this nonnuclear bomb being deployed by the People's Liberation Army cannot be rule out.