FIA sends letter to European Parliament to support including fusion in Green Deal Industrial Plan
On March 9, 2023, the FIA and many of its member and affiliate member companies sent a letter to the European Parliament requesting that fusion is included as a key technology aiming to reach the goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Background: Legislation to Accelerate the Energy Transition
In February, the European Commission presented a Green Deal Industrial Plan to enhance the competitiveness of Europe’s net-zero industry and accelerate the transition to climate neutrality. To implement this plan, the European Parliament will consider legislation called the Net-Zero Industrial Act that will provide the legal framework to implement the Commission’s plan. The bulk of the plan consists of subsidies and incentives to build, deploy, and support European clean energy industries.
Fusion Should be in the Green Deal Industrial Plan
As currently presented by both the European Commission and considered by the European Parliament, fusion energy is not included. Even though fusion energy is not a commercial endeavor yet, its promise is so vast that governments should support it.
The benefits of fusion as a business are clear: McKinsey reports that fusion could “Dominate” the European energy grid by 2050 and Bloomberg reports that fusion could reach a $40 trillion valuation. And these are not just far-off predictions: the members of the Fusion Industry Association already spend more than $500 million per year on their supply chains.
To be clear, fusion does not need special status or preferential treatment, but the FIA’s concern is that the incentives in the European Green Deal will give undue advantage to other energy resources, making deployment of energy – when its ready – slower and more costly. Fusion will be the ultimate energy source, but it should have a level playing field as it grows into a new industry. The FIA signed this letter because we support efforts to accelerate tomorrow’s fusion power economy and build that level playing field.
The requests for fusion in the act are simple: build regulatory certainty, identify fusion industrial capacity goals, build public-private partnerships for research institutes and universities, and support fusion-specific workforce development.
Read further online or see the full letter below.