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The Fusion Action Plan implements a flagship measure of the High-Tech Agenda Germany - announced in July by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) - in fusion, identified as one of six critical future technologies for the country.
"Fusion energy could be an important component in the power grid of the future," the action plan says. "However, significant technological challenges still need to be overcome on the path to the first fusion power plant. The technologies required for a power plant must be researched and developed to market readiness in a joint effort by industry and science."
The Federal Government's adopted action plan identifies eight fields of action and measures that should be addressed in order to realise a fusion power plant in Germany.
Firstly, it will strengthen research funding by increasing public funding within the framework of the Fusion 2040 funding programme and the announced joint energy research programme to a total of about EUR1.7 billion during this legislative period.
The government will also promote the development of a fusion ecosystem comprising science and industry. thereby supporting the transfer of knowledge from research to companies, which can then assume the leading role on the path to fusion power plants. At the same time, it will promote the comprehensive development of value chains for a fusion power plant in Germany.
Funds will be allocated for the establishment and expansion of research infrastructures and pilot projects, even beyond the current financial planning, so that the goals agreed upon in the action plan can be achieved. In this legislative period alone, funds amounting to up to EUR755 million are to be used from the special infrastructure fund.
The Federal Government will, within the scope of its federal structure, support the training and further education of specialists and will regularly engage in dialogue with the states on this matter.
The action plan calls for the Federal Government to continue to regulate fusion within the framework of the Radiation Protection Act and not within the framework of the Atomic Energy Act. This, it says, provides a reliable framework for companies and investors and thus supports necessary investments, including private capital.
The Federal Government will advocate for the protection of intellectual property and support efforts towards internationally harmonised standardization. It will also enter into long-term and strategic international cooperation with value-based partners that will further accelerate the already internationally positioned fusion research.
"Recent years have clearly shown us all that our energy supply is facing challenges," said Federal Minister for Research, Technology and Space Dorothee Bär. "It is the foundation for competitiveness, value creation, and sovereignty. Our energy of tomorrow should be safe, environmentally compatible, climate-friendly, and affordable for everyone. In the future, the key technology of fusion could help fulfill this demand. With the Fusion Action Plan, we are paving the way for the world's first fusion power plant in Germany."
In September 2023, then Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger announced that Germany would significantly increase research funding for fusion with an additional EUR370 million over the next five years. Together with funds already earmarked for research institutions, the ministry will provide more than EUR1 billion for fusion research by 2028. The move was aimed at paving the way for the first fusion power plant to be constructed in Germany by 2040.
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