For the federal government, nuclear fusion is an option for a clean, reliable and affordable energy supply. Germany is in a “pole position” in this area, which should be used “ambitiously, free of ideology and open to technology“, says Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FPD). She wants to provide additional funds, companies should give planning security through a new regulatory framework outside of the previous nuclear law. The previous law does not fit.
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On behalf of the minister, a fusion expert group had estimated that an operational nuclear fusion power plant would be feasible by 2045. In a position paper on fusion research (PDF) that has now been presented, your ministry has now outlined options for action in magnet and laser fusion research, which should form the basis for a new BMBF funding program to be developed. Science and companies should now comment on this.
According to the will of the government, they should build a fusion ecosystem together in order to be able to use synergies. Research centers should form hubs that industry could also use for tests on the way to using the “most important energy source in the universe”, as the position paper says. It is resource-saving, clean, safe, base load capable and affordable.
German potential
According to the Ministry of Research, it is not possible to foresee with certainty whether magnetic fusion or inertial fusion will prevail. So far, Germany has focused on magnetic fusion. However, the current advances in fusion research prompted a systematic reassessment of the situation.
At the end of last year, the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California succeeded for the first time in generating nuclear fusion, releasing more energy than was put into it in the form of laser light. Work is being done there on inertial fusion, unlike what is planned at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is currently being built to research magnetic fusion. The US magazine Scientific American had reported that internal documents showed that ITER was being delayed further and that higher spending was required.
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There are currently few activities in Germany for inertial or laser fusion research, but some research approaches in the Helmholtz, Max Planck and Fraunhofer societies, writes the Ministry of Research. There are also German companies that are world leaders in the manufacture of targets and in the development of optical materials and components for laser systems. “Germany is one of the leading nations in relevant branches of technology and required system components (laser technology, optical components, specialized sensors). This results in opportunities for laser fusion in Germany,” says the position paper. A new funding program aims to maintain and expand the existing locational advantages. The federal government calls this “strengthening strengths”.
(anw)
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