When humanity looks back at the history of climate actions advanced to build its non-carbon energy cycle, fusion, and the year 2021 will stand out. The year saw significant, announced milestones in plasma physics and engineering—in superconducting magnets and sustained plasma temperatures, for example—complemented by investment milestones—at least $4 billion in private financing was secured. The most telling, however, were its societal milestones. These are the highlights that ECG marks:
2021—A year that began with a report, Bringing Fusion to the Grid, from US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine stating that fusion energy could and would be commercial in time to make a difference on climate. The year was then bookended by the first-ever addition of fusion to the COP26 climate stage, where it was globally recognized as a viable climate solution; it generated great interest during the panel, Looking to the Future with Fusion Energy, in the diplomatic Blue Zone.
Global snapshot: ITER reaffirms its role and support of compact commercial power devices; General Fusion enters a long-term lease with UKAEA to build and operate a demonstration plant in the UK; the UK publishes its Fusion Strategy stating ambitions to demonstrate commercial viability and to build a world-leading fusion industry; South Korea announces an 8-point plan to build fusion.
Domestic snapshot: Congressman Beyer (D-VA), establishes a bipartisan House Fusion Caucus, hosting multiple briefings for members; the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology recommends $1.24 billion (about $4 per person in the US) in funding for the development of commercial fusion in the BBB infrastructure bill (Senate is still debating); NRC staff takes an extra six months to study fusion before issuing its draft recommendation in a nod to the differences between fusion and fission.
Entrance of the NGO opinion makers: The year was capped by an in-depth fusion energy discussion—or “teach-in”—led by environmental NGOs acknowledging the need for fusion’s contribution as a significant non-carbon energy source added to known green solutions. This one event has inspired the planning of multiple other similar events.
When future climate historians review 2021, though, it is likely that it will be media recognition that stands out. In sheer volume of articles and reports, 2021 dwarfed all other years in fusion’s history, combined. It was the year that fusion was discussed, no longer as science fiction, but as a climate energy solution alongside storage and hydrogen and renewables. Highlights include in-depth science and business reports, and lead to a lengthy New Yorker magazine story, interviews on Aljazeera, a NY Times climate op-ed, an in-depth article in Nature, Time Magazine’s ongoing blog and articles, and the first front page article for fusion in the Boston Globe. ECG contributed to many of these, offering an advocate’s voice for fusion.
As the only NGO dedicated to fusion’s advocacy, education, awareness, and understanding, Energy for the Common Good is paving the way for societal understanding, excitement, and acceptance of fusion as an important non-carbon energy resource. We advocate, network, and coalesce to ensure that the fusion devices built have a clear pathway to commercial use…soon enough to make a difference.