Nuclear fusion: progress and challenges towards a possible power plant
Nuclear fusion, the controlled fusion of atomic nuclei to produce energy, is now within reach thanks to recent advances. A new compact study examines the current state of the art and identifies critical knowledge gaps and the resulting research needs on the way to a possible fusion power plant. The study looks at the technology from a technology assessment perspective and discusses economic, environmental and social aspects in addition to technical feasibility.
Although the technical feasibility of an energy-producing fusion plasma could be achieved in the foreseeable future, the road to commercial power generation is still a long one. The study not only describes the state of the art, but also identifies critical gaps in knowledge and the resulting research needs. Decades of research and development will be needed to bring commercial fusion power plants online by mid-century. Scientific and technical feasibility is a necessary but not a sufficient condition.
A crucial question will be whether fusion power plants promise social benefits. From the perspective of technology assessment, there are fundamental questions whose answers will largely determine the success or failure of fusion technology. These are primarily questions of economic efficiency, integration into an energy system characterised by renewable energies, environmental characteristics (e.g. contribution to climate protection, resource requirements and radioactive inventory, emissions and waste), but also questions of social sustainability, such as distribution and acceptance issues. There are also dual-use and proliferation issues.
The main findings are summarised in 12 questions and answers, which are available online on the project page.
| The new TA-Kompakt series has its origins in the likewise new TA-Kompakt analysis format, which serves the information needs of the German Bundestag on current and controversial topics in a concise form. |
09.01.2025