Fusion Pilot Plant

The Fusion Pilot Plant is a program initiated in 2021 by the United States Department of Energy to construct a pilot plant capable of producing net electrical fusion power by the 2030s. In September 2022, $50 million was earmarked by the Department of Energy for development of a pilot fusion power plant.[1][2] The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine was involved in kicking off the program and advised it become a United States public-private partnership.[3][4] In the same month, a Funding Opportunity Announcement was released launching the competitive application process for the Fusion Pilot Plant program under the official title of the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program[5]

General Fusion received an award in July 2022 to study tritium production for the pilot plant startup.[6] In October 2022, General Atomics announced it would compete to construct the plant, citing its success operating the DIII-D tokamak, and expressed an interest in siting it in Southern California.[7][8]

In May 2023, the Department of Energy announced eight private fusion companies had, following a competitive peer-review process, been selected to participate in the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program[9]. These companies are: Tokamak Energy, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Type One Energy, Thea Energy, Xcimer Energy, Focussed Energy, Zap Energy, and Realta Fusion.

In June 2024, at a White House summit the Department of Energy announced that all eight companies had successfully concluded detailed milestones negotiations with the federal government and that agreements had been signed to commence the Milestone Program[10].

See also

References
  1. "U.S. fusion pilot program ready to back designs from industry-led teams". Nuclear newswire. American Nuclear Society. September 27, 2022.
  2. Department of Energy Announces $50 Million for a Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program (press release), United States Department of Energy Office of Science, September 22, 2022
  3. Robert J. Goldston (April 14, 2021), "National Academies calls for a fusion pilot plant", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
  4. John Greenwald (November 11, 2021). "PPPL expert details plans for a fusion pilot plant for presidential advisors". Quest. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
  5. "MILESTONE-BASED FUSION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT (FOA) NUMBER: DE-FOA-0002809" (PDF).
  6. "Savannah River leverages its tritium experience to support fusion power". Nuclear newswire. American Nuclear Society. July 22, 2022.
  7. "General Atomics announces concept for Fusion Pilot Plant". World Nuclear News. October 25, 2022.
  8. Rob Nikolewski (November 4, 2022). "San Diego company plans to build a nuclear fusion plant. Will the pilot program work?". San Diego Union-Tribune.
  9. "DOE Announces $46 Million for Commercial Fusion Energy Development". Energy.gov. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  10. "DOE Announces New Decadal Fusion Energy Strategy". Energy.gov. Retrieved June 26, 2024.

Further reading
  • National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2021), Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid, The National Academies Press, doi:10.17226/25991, ISBN 978-0-309-68538-2, S2CID 234325937


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