The US announced “International Partnerships in a New Era of Fusion Energy Development”, issuing five goals for international partnership and collaboration opportunities on the way to fusion commercialization.
75 US-based companies and universities sent a letter to the Senate and House Appropriations Committees, urging an increase in fusion energy funding. The community requests that fusion is funding at the level requested by the President’s budget request, at the full level authorized in the CHIPS and Science Act. The whole community agrees that the Committee should “fund and prioritize” fusion energy
A bipartisan letter signed by 72 Members of Congress, requesting increased funding into the commercialization of fusion energy, was sent to the House Appropriations Committee on October 31.
On October 13, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced the first round of federal funding to fusion firms, following Japan’s launch of a national strategy geared towards fusion acceleration earlier in the year.
The International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA) is hosting the 29th Fusion Energy Conference (FEC) from October 16-21 in London. The annual conference provides a space for leading fusion developers, policymakers, and scientists to connect and discuss actions to advance fusion R&D and achieve commercial fusion power on a global scale.
During the annual International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Fusion Energy Conference, IAEA Director General Rafael Marino Grossi launched the World Fusion Outlook, a new publication that details the state of fusion energy research and development worldwide.
On September 27, the German parliament held a public hearing on “Strengthening fusion research at a world-class level” in Berlin, with participation by Germany-based FIA members Focused Energy and Proxima Fusion. The hearing signifies another step in accelerating fusion commercialization in Germany.
The House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing on September 14 with testimony from U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, giving “An Update on the Department of Energy’s Science and Technology Priorities”. During the hearing, Members of Congress voiced their bipartisan support for fusion funding in order to ensure US leadership in the fast growing industry.
The Fusion Industry Association welcomes the U.K. Government’s ambitious new programme for fusion development and commercialisation as an alternative to Euratom association.
On Monday, July 31, the UK Science, Innovation and Technology Committee published a comprehensive report on delivering nuclear power, concluding that the UK should continue R&D for fusion technologies with fusion as a ‘part of the Government’s long-term energy plan’.