Fusion research is proceeding at a significant pace around the world. What difference does it make to have a dedicated regulatory strategy?

Around the world, there is increasing attention on the promise of nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun. It’s long been regarded as the “Holy Grail” of energy production, with the potential for providing a nearly limitless clean energy source.

In Europe, the ITER project in France, along with others, has been receiving a significant amount of investment. However, in his recent report on Europe’s competitiveness, former European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi wrote that the EU risks falling behind on fusion in the face of advances taking place in other parts of the world, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States.

In recent years, the United States has seen a resurgence in nuclear fusion research fueled by government support and private investment. Several recent milestones have been achieved, including the National Ignition Facility in California producing more energy from a fusion reaction than was used to initiate it – a breakthrough moment known as “ignition” – in December 2022.

Practical fusion energy

The private sector has also become increasingly involved in fusion research. Companies like Helion Energy, TAE Technologies, and Commonwealth Fusion Systems are working on innovative approaches to achieve practical fusion energy.

One project, for example, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, is utilising high-temperature superconductors to develop its tokamak, which promises to reduce costs and time to commercialisation.

The US government has pledged a great deal of financial support to fusion research. The Department of Energy has launched the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program to promote innovative fusion technologies. Under the Biden administration, funding for fusion initiatives has been significantly boosted, emphasising a national commitment to merging research with practical deployment.

US fusion strategy

The Biden administration’s strategy for the commercialisation of fusion energy, launched in 2022, has been followed by the highest fusion budget ever approved by any country, with over $760 million allocated for 2023. Additionally, a public-private partnership program for fusion development was launched, authorised until 2027, with a total of $415 million.

$50 million of that was awarded to eight different private companies in 2023.

The regulatory and legal framework for this activity has been set in stages since 2018. Since then, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission decided to definitively separate fusion regulation from nuclear fission regulation and to regulate future fusion plants as radiation sources.

Currently, proposed revisions to codify the NRC’s decision have been approved by both the House and Senate and are awaiting final passage.

The European Union has not yet adopted a separate regulatory framework for fusion. That may be having an impact on the appetite of investors for these projects. “The United States is home to 25 of the 45 companies working on fusion, which have declared having received a combined $5.5 billion of funding to date, representing more than three-quarters of the total investment worldwide,” notes Cyrille Mai Thanh, the EU Affairs Director for the Fusion Industry Association.

“The private sector is not only flourishing thanks to private investments but also thanks to support from the public sector. The U.S. government, already a quarter-century ago, established the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, which provides a high level of scientific expertise in fusion development,” observed Mai Thanh.

British fission work

For years, the United Kingdom’s work on fusion was largely connected to that of the rest of Europe, but since Brexit, the UK has been pursuing its own independent work outside of the EU framework. The Joint European Torus (JET) facility, located in Culham, England, has established itself as the largest operational magnetic confinement fusion experiment.

JET has been instrumental in advancing fusion technology. In recent years, it has successfully conducted experiments that have provided critical data for future fusion reactors. The facility is particularly known for experimenting with deuterium-tritium fusion, which is key for future power plants.

The UK government has announced significant funding and support for fusion research as part of its commitment to reducing carbon emissions. The latest funding package aims to advance the ST40 and STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) initiatives, focusing on designing a prototype fusion power plant expected to enter operation by the 2040s.

It also launched its Fusion Strategy in 2020, outlining a comprehensive approach to accelerate public and private sector investment, enhance research capabilities, and foster collaboration across the fusion community. As part of that strategy, the UK government allocated £220 million toward the STEP initiative, which aims to develop a compact fusion power plant by the 2040s. It has also provided grants and support to companies researching nuclear fusion.

Dedicated regulatory strategy

Cyrille Mai Thanh believes that the EU should be looking at what’s working in the US and UK and think about a dedicated regulatory strategy for fusion to attract investment.

“While the U.S. enjoys robust private investment in fusion and Chinese companies benefit from strong governmental support, European startups struggle with both limited private investment and public funding, not to mention the lack of regulatory framework for fusion creating uncertainty,” said Mai Thanh in September. “Raising money is a real issue in Europe, so far, the highest fund raised by a fusion company was not more than €100 million compared with over $2 billion in the US just for one company.”

As the new EU legislative term begins next month, lawmakers are being urged to think about a more dedicated strategy for nuclear fusion to compete with advances elsewhere in the world.

With work on the technology having been recommended by the Draghi report on European competitiveness, researchers in the field are hopeful that progress can be made in the coming year.

[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]