Fusion commercialisation

William Nuttall and Tom Wallace-Smith

Chapter 65 in Elgar Encyclopedia of Energy Economics, 2025, pp 247-252 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In the 2020s, a shift has occurred, taking key aspects of leadership in nuclear fusion development away from large publicly-funded laboratories and into entrepreneurial start-up companies. Historically, and indeed today, the dominant goal of fusion innovation has been to be a low-cost, reliable and low-carbon energy source. The most orthodox ambition has been a fusion power station for electricity generation, but in recent decades attention has also shifted towards process heat applications, such as for hydrogen production. One of us (WJN) helped propose the hydrogen-producing “Fusion Island” concept, based on hydrogen cryomagnetics, nearly 20 years ago. We observe, however, that the most proximate commercial opportunity today for fusion is as a neutron source. This may be used, for example, in medical isotope production for diagnosis and therapy. In such terms, commercial fusion is with us already. One of us (TWS) is actively engaged in such developments.

Keywords: Fusion; Tokamak; Innovation; Commercialisation; Hydrogen; Neutron (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035310364
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