Fusion can potentially provide a safe, abundant, zero-carbon-emitting source of reliable primary energy. Over the past decade, the landscape around fusion energy research and development (R&D) has evolved significantly, especially in the United States. Building on decades of public investments in fusion science and technology (S&T), major advances are being achieved domestically and globally by public- and private-sector entities, such as the achievement of fusion ignition. These are indications of fusion’s increasing technical readiness. Other major advances, e.g. in high-temperature superconductors, advanced materials, and artificial intelligence, have the potential to further accelerate and transform fusion R&D.
The more than $6 billion of cumulative equity investments into private fusion companies, with 80% of these investments into United States fusion companies, is an indication of fusion’s potential upside as a future commercial energy technology. While the shift toward greater private-sector involvement in fusion R&D is seen most dramatically in the United States, it is a strongly growing global trend with equity investments in companies based in Canada, U.K., Japan, E.U., China, and others. Fusion has become a global race.
Recognizing this changing landscape and new opportunities for partnerships with the growing fusion private sector, in March 2022, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Department of Energy (DOE) co-hosted the first-ever White House Fusion Summit on Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy. The Bold Decadal Vision represents a policy shift in U.S. fusion energy R&D to accelerate the viability of commercial fusion energy, while continuing to advance its scientific and technological foundations.
Additional content from this video was provided by:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems
- Zap Energy
- ARPA-E (Awardee: Realta Fusion)
- Tokamak Energy
- JT-60SA
25 июн 2024
