U.S. Department of Energy Launches Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap
On October 16, the U.S. Department of Energy released the Fusion Science and Technology (FS&T) Roadmap, aiming to accelerate the fusion industry in the U.S. “on the most rapid timeline.” It notes that the “goal of the Roadmap is to deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s.”
The Roadmap highlights three main drivers – “Build, Innovate, and Grow” – as the new strategy to align sectors to deliver fusion power to the grid by the mid-2030s.
- Build key infrastructure to address critical fusion materials and technology gaps to deliver frontier commercial fusion-relevant materials and breeder testing facilities,
- Innovate and advance the science and engineering of fusion, connecting foundational research with new programs and integrating emerging breakthrough areas to accelerate progress in other areas, and
- Grow the US fusion ecosystem through domestic and international public-private partnerships, fostering new regional consortia, building research FS&T infrastructure, supply chains, and fusion manufacturing networks.
The six key challenge areas that the Roadmap addresses are: structural materials, plasma-facing components, confinement systems, fuel cycle, blankets, and plant engineering and integration. It charts the path to commercialization by identifying actions to close science and technology gaps, and sets the course for a leading U.S. fusion ecosystem.
With an outline for more streamlined collaboration, now is the time for U.S. government to fund the programming and accelerate fusion deployment.
Below is the Roadmap in full.
