Federal Nuclear Fusion Strategy to Spur Development

As the demand for energy continues to rise rapidly to meet expanding data and artificial intelligence needs and increasing electrification, interest in nuclear power has been resurrected. Existing nuclear power technology in use at a number of nuclear reactors around the country is based on fission, which involves splitting atoms to create power.

But fusion has long been seen as the ultimate nuclear goal, where energy is created by fusing atoms together, creating a chain reaction that produces an unlimited amount of clean, around-the-clock energy while not producing any radioactive waste. This reaction occurs naturally in the sun and stars due to overwhelming gravitational pressure that forces atoms together. For years, researchers have been working develop machines that can replicate the high-temperature and high-pressure conditions needed to create such a reaction, and rapid advances in the technology are now attracting attention and investment.

Recently the Department of Energy released its Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap, a national strategy to rapidly accelerate the development and commercialization of fusion energy. It was just three years ago, in 2022, that scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the first time were able to use 192 lasers to induce fusion between two atoms and observed a net increase in energy as a result. That is, more energy was created from the fusion than necessary to induce the reaction.

Since then, the technology has attracted an unprecedented amount of private investment, and rapid advances have been made. The roadmap outlines the DOE’s strategy to bring public and private investment and technology together to add commercial fusion power to the grid by the mid-2030s.

“With more than $9 billion in private investment already advancing burning-plasma demonstrations and prototype reactor designs, DOE is coordinating a national effort to close the remaining technical gaps—spanning materials, plasma systems, fuel cycles, and plant engineering. Through the Build–Innovate–Grow strategy, DOE and its partners across national laboratories, industry, universities, and allied nations are strengthening domestic supply chains, advancing fusion science, and securing America’s leadership in the race to deliver commercial fusion energy,” a DOE article states.

“The roadmap outlines DOE’s plan to address these challenges through coordinated investments in six core fusion science and technology areas: structural materials, plasma-facing components, confinement systems, fuel cycle, blankets, and plant engineering and integration.”

More than 600 scientists, engineers, and industry stakeholders, were involved in developing the roadmap, which identifies the key research, materials, and technology gaps that must be closed before a Fusion Pilot Plant can be put into commercial production.

The report does note that scaling up nuclear fusion by the 2030s is contingent on developing future public-private partnerships and does not commit the government to specific funding levels to support development of the technology.