Strategic Opportunities in Fusion Energy

The world’s demand for electricity (and electricity plants) will grow even faster than its needs for energy, and the opportunity for fusion to participate in that growth is both real and ecologically necessary. While magnetic confinement fusion is presently the most highly studied and most likely to be commercialized first, other techniques are also reviewed. Commercial fusion electricity is probably still 10 years away, but recent events have shown that it will happen—and possibly sooner. Worldwide developments indicate that the United States is no longer the world leader in fusion engineering, although the potential for the US to recover that position is real. The Far East is leading the world’s fusion development, and the ITER site in France has made significant changes which should improve its image and performance.