FIA Launches Commercializing Fusion Energy Paper

The global race to commercial fusion power is on. On June 24, the Fusion Industry Association launched our Commercializing Fusion Energy paper, laying out the policy incentives that will attract and accelerate the fusion industry in nations that aim to lead in commercial deployment. This paper is intended to be used as a tool by policymakers when considering the most effective policy positions to implement. 

Commercial fusion power will unlock unparalleled benefits across an array of areas – economic, energy independence, national security, climate, and energy accessibility. Nations that enact policy aligned with industry will be the first to benefit. With good policy, governments can accelerate the timeline that the unrivaled promise of fusion — energy that is clean, abundant, efficient, and secure — is brought to their marketplace.

Commercializing Fusion Energy charts three primary courses of action: harness public-private partnerships; ensure predictable regulatory regimes; and level the playing field.

• Harness public-private partnerships
  When faced with a challenge that requires long-term deployment of capital and political stability, a public-private partnership (PPP) structured properly can be among the most powerful tools in modern society. National flexibility of PPP concepts ensures that such an agreement could be custom-built to meet the mission needs of fusion, harnessing the decades of fusion research experience in government programs and combining that expertise with the ambitions and nimbleness of the private sector. The over $6.2b invested in private fusion companies worldwide is a clear demonstrated interest of investment firms in fusion technologies. Generating robust PPPs focused on deploying fusion power and bolstering supply chains, backed with government support in multiple forms, would give investors and suppliers the confidence needed to back fusion firms at a higher level, and allow fusion firms to accelerate their timelines.
  
• Ensure predictable regulatory regimes
  Regulatory certainty is a necessary condition for commercialization of fusion power. For investors and companies to deploy capital and commit to commercialization timelines, they need confidence in the regulatory frameworks established by government. This is critical for the siting and construction of pilot projects and commercial-scale facilities in any sector, not just fusion. Fusion needs specific, clear regulations that are entirely separate from nuclear fission. The two processes are fundamentally different, with vastly different risks, hazards, and safety profiles. In order to deploy and scale, fusion needs regulatory treatment that is right-sized to the technology, and not tied to legacy fission regulations as a default.
  
• Level the playing field
  Governments understand the importance of clean energy, and have showered these industries with subsidies and other incentives. It is imperative that fusion energy technologies receive fair treatment alongside other clean energy sources. With shared goals of bolstering energy security, combating climate change, and advancing human health, fusion has the potential to make an important impression, but it needs the same subsidies to compete.

Enacting policy well-aligned with the quickly growing fusion industry is paramount for countries hoping to position themselves as sites for early deployers and adopters. The global stage for fusion will be set by those that effectively align public and private sectors, solidify appropriate regulatory frameworks, and include fusion on a level clean energy playing field.

The full paper is below and available for download.