China grid wears powerful ‘diamond ring’ to prevent massive blackout

Quantum-powered sentinel detects grid instability in real time to safeguard China’s power grid from devastating outages as seen in Europe

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Quantum tools form a new line of defence, blending China’s massive infrastructure with cutting-edge science to keep the lights on in an era of energy upheaval. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:14pm, 30 May 2025Updated: 5:17pm, 30 May 2025

China’s power grid now wields a futuristic safeguard against catastrophic collapses – a quantum-powered, all-seeing “diamond ring” capable of detecting grid instability in real time with unprecedented precision.

This breakthrough, inspired by the quantum properties of diamond sensors, arrives as nations worldwide grapple with blackouts triggered by renewable energy volatility and ageing infrastructure.

The urgency was underscored in April, when sweeping outages paralysed Spain, Portugal and France after grid oscillations severed Spain from Europe’s interconnected network.

Similar chaos also struck China’s Xinjiang region last year, when solar and wind fluctuations destabilised local grids.

Such incidents highlight a critical challenge – as renewables dominate energy transitions, their weather-dependent unpredictability strains traditional monitoring systems.

Designed by a team from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in collaboration with the State Grid Corporation, China’s “diamond ring” – a toroidal or ring-shaped device embedding nitrogen-vacancy quantum sensors – acts as a high-precision sentinel for power lines.

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