FUSION UPDATE | COVER STORY
Judith Perera
Contributing Editor, Nuclear Engineering International
Judith Perera reviews the nuclear fusion milestones of 2021
THE PROGRESS MADE BY PRIVATE companies proved the key fusion development during 2021. There are at least 35 global companies and an October survey from the US Fusion Industry Association (FIA) and the UK’s UKAEA had information from 23 of them. Of the companies featured from the US (12), UK (five) and India, China, Canada, Australia, Germany and France, 15 were founded after 2010. So far 18 of the companies have declared private funding of almost $1.8 billion, plus an additional $85 million in grants and other funding from governments. Four companies — Commonwealth Fusion Systems, General Fusion, TAE Technologies and Tokamak Energy — account for
85% of the total. The survey found that 71% of companies believe fusion will be achieved in the 2030s. The most popular approach is magnetic confinement, followed by magneto-inertial confinement.
Progress in 2021 included: ● Inertial fusion company First Light Fusion (UK) completed construction of a 22m $1.5 million hyper-velocity gas gun. It complements First Light’s electromagnetic propulsion device, Machine 3, to advance its projectile fusion technology. First Light had been hoping to demonstrate first fusion by the end of 2019, but underestimated the engineering challenges. U
Right: Commonwealth Fusion Systems has selected a site in Devens, Massachusetts for a commercial fusion campus Photo credit: CFS
www.neimagazine.com | March 2022 | 17
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