But this approach required a lot of chemical explosives

 But this approach required a lot of chemical explosives and was largely abandoned because of safety concerns."

Turning explosive energy into electricity is not easy, according to a Beijing-based researcher not involved in Xiaoyuan's study, who spoke to SCMP on the basis of anonymity. 

"Zhang's team was able to achieve extremely high speeds and temperatures at the same time," said the researcher.

Such explosions are very challenging to manage, and the researcher suggested that society would profit from taming this extreme method of energy production.