The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently released its Fusion Energy Strategy 2024 intended to accelerate fusion energy R&D and demonstrate an operating fusion pilot plant, led by the private sector, in the 2030s.

DOE will provide two funding opportunities totaling $50 million that will support foundational science and technology research connected to high-priority issues for a future fusion pilot plant, including plasma modeling, interactions and control.

In support of the fusion energy strategy, the agency also announced a $180 million funding opportunity for Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE) Collaboratives. The FIRE Collaboratives are aimed at supporting the continued creation of a fusion innovation ecosystem by forming teams with a collective goal of bridging DOE’s Fusion Energy Sciences program’s foundational and enabling science research with the needs of the growing fusion industry. This funding opportunity is open to accredited U.S. colleges and universities, national laboratories, nonprofits and private companies.

Negative triangularity shaping in the DIII-D tokamak recently produced plasmas with no observed instabilities for triangularities less than approximately -0.15, even at high heating power and core performance. Source: DOE

In addition, DOE released a Request for Information on a proposed Fusion Energy Public-Private Consortium Framework intended to complement the Milestone Program and FIRE Collaboratives by catalyzing and bringing together state/local government, private, philanthropic funding, as well as new partnerships, to accelerate fusion commercialization.