US tosses $134M pocket change at fusion pipe dream

That won't even warm the plasma

America's Department of Energy (DOE) has earmarked $134 million in funding for two programs aimed at securing US leadership in emerging fusion technologies. The move comes amid renewed interest in nuclear power sparked by surging datacenter energy demands.

The DOE funding will be split between the Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE) initiative, which gets $128 million, and the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) program, which will receive a much smaller $6.1 million.

There's an old joke that says nuclear fusion power is 30 years away and always will be, which perhaps explains why the DOE is only committing such modest sums, in comparison with the billions being pumped into the semiconductor industry.

FIRE was formed with the goal of developing a fusion innovation ecosystem around centrally managed teams called "Collaboratives." These are charged with bridging the DOE's own basic science research programs and nascent fusion industries in the US.

With INFUSE, the DOE says it has selected 20 projects that accelerate private-sector fusion energy development by reducing barriers to collaboration between businesses and national laboratories or universities. What these barriers are isn't stated.

Projects selected include research into materials science, laser technology development, high-temperature superconducting magnet assessment, and machine learning for fusion modeling and simulation.

The DOE claims these initiatives represent a significant step forward in advancing fusion energy research, and ultimately supporting the development of technologies crucial for US national security, energy security, and defense.

The DOE notes that fusion has the potential to provide abundant, reliable energy, if it can be made to work. This would be a godsend with datacenter energy use set to more than double by the end of the decade, plus the move to electric vehicles and electrification of industrial processes all putting strain on energy supply.

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claimed these programs are set to open up "the next frontier of American energy."

 "Fusion power holds the promise of limitless, reliable, American-made energy, and programs like INFUSE and FIRE ensure our innovators have the tools, talent, and partnerships to make it a reality," he stated.

However, an article published by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists last year quoted plasma physicist Bob Rosner as stating that commercial-scale, tokamak-style fusion will not be a reality in his lifetime, "and I think not in my children's lifetime, or my grandchildren's lifetime."

Despite the difficulties in making fusion power a reality, it continues to attract a steady drumbeat of investment. In June, for example, the UK government stumped up an extra £2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) for the spherical tokamak for energy production (STEP) project, built on the site of a former coal power station in Nottinghamshire.

Google also agreed in June to purchase fusion energy from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), even though its ARC power plant is still under development, and startup Helion scored another $425 million in funding earlier this year.

Microsoft had previously agreed to site a 50 MW fusion power plant from the firm at one of its datacenters in Washington State – if a commercially fusion solution ever materializes. ®