U.S. DOE Announces New Decadal Fusion Energy Strategy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has celebrated the two-year anniversary of the Administration’s launch of the Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy by releasing the DOE Fusion Energy Strategy 2024.
The DOE initiated a comprehensive effort to develop a strategy aimed at accelerating the feasibility of commercial fusion energy in collaboration with the private sector. The 27-page Fusion Energy Strategy 2024 focuses on three key pillars: addressing the science and technology (S&T) gaps necessary for a commercially viable fusion pilot plant; paving the way for sustainable and equitable commercial fusion deployment; and fostering and utilizing external partnerships.
According to Nuclear Engineering, DOE also announced a $180m funding opportunity for Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE) Collaboratives. The FIRE Collaboratives are aimed at supporting the further creation of a fusion innovation ecosystem by forming teams that will have a collective goal of bridging the Department’s Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) programme’s foundational and enabling science research with the needs of the growing fusion industry, including the technology roadmaps of the awardees of the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Programme. These Collaboratives are envisioned as dynamic hubs of innovation to help bolster US-based manufacturing and supply chains, driving advancements in fusion energy research in collaboration with both public and private entities.
The FIRE Collaboratives Funding Opportunity Announcement, sponsored by the FES programme within the Department’s Office of Science, can be found on the Funding Opportunities webpage and is open to accredited US colleges and universities, national laboratories, non-profits, and private companies. Outyear funding for the FIRE Collaboratives is subject to congressional appropriations.
