A Canadian fusion machine just tripled its plasma temperature to 8.4 million°C by crushing it, and the method is not what reactors usually use

General Fusion announced that its LM26 machine heated plasma to about 15.1 million degrees Fahrenheit, more than tripling the electron temperature through mechanical compression rather than giant lasers or massive superconducting magnets. The Canadian company said the result was confirmed by several diagnostic systems, including Thomson scattering and Absolute Extreme Ultraviolet measurements. It also reported roughly tenfold increases in plasma density and poloidal magnetic field strength during compression. Researchers observed an increase in neutron yield during compression, suggesting fusion reactions were occurring inside the plasma, although the company said the experiment did not produce net energy. The key number is 0.72 kiloelectronvolts, which equals about 15.1 million degrees Fahrenheit. That is still below General Fusion's next target of 1 kiloelectronvolt, or about 18 million degrees Fahrenheit. Greg Twinney, General Fusion's chief executive, called the results evidence of progress. The results are preliminary and have been submitted for peer review. LM26 has been operating since 2025, according to the company. General Fusion describes it as the first Magnetized Target Fusion demonstration machine built at a commercially relevant scale. The company said LM26 remained stable until deep into compression and did not show significant plasma contamination from the lithium liner during the stable phase.