The CDU/CSU parliamentary group wants to ensure that research on nuclear fusion in Germany is advanced quickly. In an application for the Bundestag, which is available heise online, she calls on the federal government to make a clear commitment to fusion energy. In addition, it should “commission two fusion reactors with competing technology in Germany” and submit a proposal for “innovation-friendly regulation of fusion technology” to the relevant Bundestag committees.
Even beyond the goal of climate neutrality, which according to the Climate Protection Act should be achieved by 2045, it will depend on innovations that cover the increasing demand, make Germany less dependent and generate electricity at internationally competitive prices. It is foreseeable that “at least one third of Germany’s energy needs will have to be covered by imports and by 2045 only two thirds of Germany’s energy needs could be covered by domestic renewable energies”.
“Gamechanger” Kernfusion
This is where fusion energy could become a “game changer”, believe the CDU and CSU. While previous fusion research in Germany, such as in the Wendelstein 7-X experimental reactor and internationally in the ITER project, has focused on magnetic confinement processes, an important breakthrough has been achieved in the field of laser-induced inertial fusion. The faction refers to a message from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). At the end of last year at the research center there, a team in a laser fusion experiment succeeded in gaining more energy than was previously put into it.
For the Union parties, this means that laser inertial fusion opens up a new “technology development route”, especially in photonics, and in this Germany is the world leader. In Germany, too, several commercial companies have been founded around fusion research, the way start-ups work is speeding up development, and the usability of fusion energy is getting closer.
Efforts in the USA, but also in China, South Korea, Japan and Great Britain show that more venture capital is now flowing into fusion technology. “If Germany doesn’t act, there is a risk that further technology development will start here without German participation,” the CDU and CSU fear. Therefore, with this motion, the parliamentary group wants to initiate a broad public debate about the chances of nuclear fusion.
Conventional funding is not sufficient
The parliamentary group believes that conventional mechanisms such as subsidies and cooperation agreements are not unsuitable for bringing such a disruptive technology to market maturity. Instead, “the internationally successful instrument of pre-commercial procurement with milestone competitions should be used,” says the application. “This is how SpaceX grew and this is how the first German launchers are being created.”
In view of the research breakthrough at the LLNL, Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger commissioned a commission of experts to assess the current state of nuclear fusion research. The team of six experts and one expert in plasma physics, among other things, came to the conclusion that laser-driven inertial fusion currently offers the most advantages. A fusion demonstration power plant can be expected around 2045. Germany offers know-how in areas such as laser technology, which it can contribute to further research. The minister commented on the memorandum with the words, among other things, that research funding must be more precisely targeted.
(anw)