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Euractiv
5 days ago
- Business
- Euractiv
EU lacks bold political leadership on nuclear fusion
An influential member of the European Parliament's industry committee has warned a gathering of politicians and stakeholders at a nuclear fusion event that a lack of political leadership at the European Commission is causing the EU to fall behind in a potentially game-changing energy technology. 'There is a lack of political leadership when it comes to nuclear energy in Europe - fission is not exempt from this,' said Christophe Grudler, a French MEP from the Renew Europe group, which also counts French President Emmanuel Macron as a member. Only 2% of the global amount of fusion investment is currently going to Europe, while 75% is going to the US, he said at the event. Grudler welcomed the Commission's intent to develop a European fusion strategy but said he still sees resistance and foot-dragging. 'We lack leadership today. In the current Commission, the responsibility for fusion lies somewhere between Euratom, the Commission's [research department] and its [energy department] - between one DG dealing with many files and another whose commissioner is not the most enthusiastic supporter of nuclear energy. This is why we need strong political ownership. That should be led from the very top by the president of the Commission herself, or an executive vice president.' Capital investment Stéphane Séjourné, the Commission's executive vice president who is also from Emmanuel Macron's French political group, has complained that seven times more private capital is available for fusion in the US than in the EU and has been pushing for a dedicated fusion strategy. France has been one of the countries pushing for more of an EU focus on nuclear energy but has faced resistance from other countries, including Germany and Austria. 'The strategy should promote public-private partnerships, provide a clear and stable regulatory framework distinct from nuclear fission and at the end create a European-level legal architecture rather than 27 fragmented ones,' said Grudler. No 'eureka' moment Grudler was speaking at a conference last month in Barcelona organised by Fusion for Energy, an organisation of the EU managing Europe's contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project in Southern France, the largest fission demonstration in the world. Though research into nuclear fusion's potential has been going on for decades, it has yet to reach the 'eureka' moment which would make it viable like nuclear fission. Fusion is the same process that powers the sun, and the most common way to make it happen is by combining deuterium and tritium, two isotopes of hydrogen, to form helium and release energy according to Einstein's mass-energy equivalence principle (E=mc²). If it can work, it would be a much more efficient and clean way to produce energy than nuclear fission, which produces long-lived radioactive waste and relies on hard-to-source uranium. Fusion promises a cleaner and virtually limitless source of energy if it can be successfully harnessed on Earth. But reproducing what the sun does is very complex. The promise is immense, but so is the challenge. Speaking at the conference, Massimo Garribba, the deputy chief of the Commission's energy department, said the intent is there for fusion, but there are obstacles, and that's why there needs to be a larger strategic focus that goes beyond just financing. '[Energy] Commissioner Jorgensen and [Research] Commissioner Zaharieva work together, and they are fully in favour of delivering this strategy,' he said. 'We have to see, there are another 23 commissioners and a president that will have to agree to this. But those two I can tell you, are quite committed to arriving at this point.' More money? 'Don't believe that if you just throw money at a problem, it will solve itself,' he added, noting that the Commission has spent €10.7 billion on ITER since 2007. 'So, what's the problem? You have all this money, all these wonderful people working on this. Well, I personally believe the problem is the approach has been a little bit haphazard. We have ITER, which is absolutely fundamental because without it you cannot do the rest, but you don't have an ecosystem of facilities which actually drives toward having a functioning system at the end of the day.' Garribba said he agreed with Grudler that the strategy has to have very specific goals to deliver financing, noting that there will be a lot of competition for funds in the new multiannual financial framework for the EU's budget over the next seven years that will be negotiated starting in mid-July. 'If we come out with a strategy that is convincing, where we explain what needs to be done and by whom in all the different areas, then we may have a discussion for the financing which would be easier than what we would otherwise have,' said Garribba. European leadership Several speakers at the conference emphasised that Europe is well-positioned to lead globally on fusion but it needs a clearer long-term strategy. 'I am optimistic, here in Europe we have unique conditions to build on the existing industrial ecosystem around ITER which is great, but we need to go beyond to address the needs of commercial fusion, so the supply chain needs to adapt to that.' 'Our leadership must prepare us for what comes after ITER, because ITER isn't an end it's a beginning,' said Grudler. 'Europe needs a roadmap from research to commercialisation, and here F4E can play a key role.' 'Fusion is long-term a high-risk endeavour,' the MEP added. 'But public-private partnerships allow us to share those risks while accelerating progress by combining public interest with private incentive in creating a predictable, stable framework for private investment. Europe already has successful models of such cooperation, such as the Hydrogen Joint Undertaking and the Battery Alliance. Fusion deserves the same level of ambition.' [Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Energy supply yet to suffer disruption amid Mideast tensions: South Korea
Seoul: South Korea's energy supply has yet to experience any disturbance from the Israel-Iran conflict , Seoul's industry ministry said on Thursday, noting it is maintaining an emergency mode in response to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an emergency meeting with officials from the local refinery industry to check the supplies and prices of oil and gas and discuss response measures to uncertainties stemming from the Middle East, reports Yonhap news agency. The ministry said Seoul has not received any reports of disruption in imports of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and that all Korean oil tankers and LNG carriers around the affected region are under normal operation. Korea currently has oil reserves that could last approximately 200 days and gas reserves exceeding the legally mandated level, the ministry explained. The government will prepare responses to possible situations that could affect Korea's energy supply, such as closure of the Hormuz Strait, while working to stabilize energy prices, it added. Global oil prices had surged over 20 percent to US$76.70 per barrel as of Wednesday compared with end-May, according to the ministry, after Israel conducted pre-emptive airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, and Iran hit back. To cushion the blow, the Seoul government decided earlier this week to extend its fuel tax cuts, originally set to end in June, through August. It also plans to conduct on-site inspections to crack down on the sale of counterfeit petroleum products. "We will do our best to minimize the impact of Middle East tensions on domestic oil and gas supplies and their prices," said Yoon Chang-hyun, director general for resources industry policy at the ministry. Meanwhile, South Korea has won a 52 million-euro ($59.6 million) deal to supply a key component for the construction of an international experimental fusion reactor being built in France, the science ministry here said. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed to provide power supply systems for the reactor, part of Seoul's continued contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Hans India
19-06-2025
- Business
- Hans India
Energy supply yet to suffer disruption amid Mideast tensions: South Korea
Seoul: South Korea's energy supply has yet to experience any disturbance from the Israel-Iran conflict, Seoul's industry ministry said on Thursday, noting it is maintaining an emergency mode in response to escalating tensions in the Middle East. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an emergency meeting with officials from the local refinery industry to check the supplies and prices of oil and gas and discuss response measures to uncertainties stemming from the Middle East, reports Yonhap news agency. The ministry said Seoul has not received any reports of disruption in imports of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and that all Korean oil tankers and LNG carriers around the affected region are under normal operation. Korea currently has oil reserves that could last approximately 200 days and gas reserves exceeding the legally mandated level, the ministry explained. The government will prepare responses to possible situations that could affect Korea's energy supply, such as closure of the Hormuz Strait, while working to stabilize energy prices, it added. Global oil prices had surged over 20 percent to US$76.70 per barrel as of Wednesday compared with end-May, according to the ministry, after Israel conducted pre-emptive airstrikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, and Iran hit back. To cushion the blow, the Seoul government decided earlier this week to extend its fuel tax cuts, originally set to end in June, through August. It also plans to conduct on-site inspections to crack down on the sale of counterfeit petroleum products. "We will do our best to minimize the impact of Middle East tensions on domestic oil and gas supplies and their prices," said Yoon Chang-hyun, director general for resources industry policy at the ministry. Meanwhile, South Korea has won a 52 million-euro ($59.6 million) deal to supply a key component for the construction of an international experimental fusion reactor being built in France, the science ministry here said. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed to provide power supply systems for the reactor, part of Seoul's continued contribution to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.
Mint
29-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Engineers India plans to expand footprint in thermal, nuclear power
New Delhi: As the Centre aims to add thermal and nuclear power plants in the country to increase baseload capacity, state-run engineering consultancy and project management company Engineers India Ltd (EIL) is looking at taking more projects in both the power generation segments, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Vartika Shukla said on Thursday. Addressing the media, Shukla said the company is in talks with players in the wind energy space to develop offshore wind projects as it diversifies further into sectors other than oil and gas. 'To meet the demand gap in the power segment, there are several thermal power plants which are reviving and which earlier we were not looking at,' said Shukla. 'So, we are also talking to some (power generation companies). We are looking at a PMC (project management consultancy) role for those projects. We also see in the non-oil and gas power sector, opportunities in offshore wind.' The focus on thermal power comes in the backdrop of government plans to add 80GW of coal-based power generation capacity in the country by 2032 to meet rising power demand along with the ambitious energy transition goal of installing 500GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. On 30 April, Mint reported that the government may increase its coal-based capacity expansion plan to about 100GW amid rising coal production and growing power demand. EIL has so far been involved in captive power plants and also in the relocation of a 300MW gas-based power plant. Speaking of the plans in nuclear power, Shukla said the company has already entered into the space and has also trained its workforce for the sector. 'We have moved the needle towards more engagement towards the nuclear sector as well,' she said. 'We were present in the space when we did the Kundankulam need to revisit that relationship. So, we have trained our people in BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre). We have built the competency within.' Some of the nuclear projects in which EIL has been associated include the 2x1000MWe Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant-Unit 3 & 4, Cooling Water and Heat Recovery Systems for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and NPCIL's Nuclear Power Project at Mithivirdi. EIL's CMD further said the company is looking at entering the small modular reactors space. Currently, India has an installed nuclear power capacity of 8.18GW and the government aims to triple the capacity by 2032. The Centre has also set an ambitious target of 100 GW of nuclear power capacity by 2047. On Thursday, EIL reported a more than twofold growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March at ₹ 279.81 crore, compared to ₹ 115.52 crore in the year-ago period. Its total income for the fourth quarter of FY25 was ₹ 1,046.57 crore, 22.2% higher on a year-on-year basis. Addressing the press conference, Shukla said EIL secured an order inflow of ₹ 8,214 crore in 2024-25, an all-time high in the journey of the company, leading to an order book of around ₹ 11,700 crore. 'The share of its diversified business segments has increased significantly with around 36% of the order inflow shared by energy efficient infrastructure segment in the past fiscal, which includes high-end data centres, state-of-the-art laboratories, and academic complexes, among others,' said a company statement. In the previous fiscal, EIL secured around 36% of its business through competitive bidding with the share of consultancy standing at around 56% of the order inflow in the fiscal. The contribution of order inflow from international businesses reached ₹ 1,077 crore, the highest in the past decade, the statement added.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - From moonshots to megawatts: Fusion's Cold War moment
When Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface in 1969, he declared it a 'giant leap for mankind.' This iconic moment, captured on grainy television screens worldwide, was not merely a triumph of human ingenuity but the result of intense geopolitical competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. The rivalry, fueled by the existential anxieties of the Cold War, paradoxically propelled humanity forward. Today, we stand on the threshold of another transformative milestone — achieving practical nuclear fusion. And once again, competition, particularly among the U.S., China and Europe, may prove critical. Idealists often advocate global cooperation, envisioning pooled resources and collective progress. However, historical realities suggest that competitive pressure often yields faster, more substantial results. The sluggish progress of ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a collaboration of 35 nations including the U.S., China, Russia and several European countries, illustrates the inherent inefficiencies in sprawling multinational cooperation. Initially proposed in 1985, ITER's schedule has repeatedly slipped, with first plasma now anticipated no sooner than 2034. Development setbacks, bureaucratic inertia, conflicting national interests, inconsistent funding, and prolonged negotiations have significantly hindered progress. Contrast ITER's delays with the rapid advances of private and national fusion efforts. In the U.S., ventures such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems, driven by academic ingenuity and substantial private investments, have reached critical milestones. Commonwealth recently demonstrated a groundbreaking high-temperature superconducting magnet, a crucial advancement toward viable fusion energy. Today, more than 50 private startups globally have attracted more than $8 billion in investment, all racing to be the first to commercialize fusion. China, too, has aggressively advanced its fusion ambitions. Chinese researchers working on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, popularly known as the 'artificial sun,' recently maintained plasma at over 120 million degrees Celsius for more than 400 seconds, a remarkable achievement that brings fusion significantly closer to practical application. These achievements make clear that when the stakes are high, competitive dynamics accelerate progress in ways international collaborations often cannot. Europe, often perceived as a collaborative partner in ITER, is now asserting itself as a formidable competitor in the fusion arena. The European Union has long supported fusion research through such initiatives as EUROfusion, which coordinates research across numerous European laboratories. Facilities such as the Joint European Torus in the UK and the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator in Germany have achieved significant milestones, demonstrating Europe's commitment to advancing fusion technology. Moreover, European startups such as Marvel Fusion in Germany have attracted substantial investments to develop innovative fusion approaches, signaling a shift towards a more competitive stance in the global fusion race. The historical parallels are instructive. The Cold War-era space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union resulted in unprecedented technological achievements. Beyond landing astronauts on the moon, this competition spurred developments in microelectronics, telecommunications, materials science and computing. The intense desire to outperform a geopolitical rival drove nations to push technological limits, delivering widespread benefits continuously. Could NASA have achieved the moon landing sooner had it been obligated to negotiate every decision with multiple international partners? The answer is unequivocally no. Multilateral consensus-building, however well-intentioned, tends to slow decision-making and dilute ambition. This lesson applies directly to the fusion race. With the accelerating impacts of climate change and global energy demands expected to rise by nearly 50 percent by 2050, fusion energy's promise — clean, abundant, and nearly limitless energy — is urgently needed. Fusion has the potential to decarbonize global energy grids, diminish geopolitical tensions over fossil fuels, and provide stable energy to developing nations. Of course, competition is not without critics. Some argue it leads to duplication, secrecy, or geopolitical tension. Yet history and current fusion progress show competition can sharpen focus, streamline resources, and accelerate timelines where cooperation might stall. Indeed, competition among the U.S., China and Europe is about more than mere technological superiority; it shapes geopolitical alliances, influences global economic dynamics, and may redefine leadership in the 21st century. Just as the U.S. emerged from the space race as a global technological and economic powerhouse, the victor in fusion development will likely dictate future standards for global energy and technology governance. Fusion technology inherently offers widespread humanitarian benefits. Even if initial successes are regionally concentrated, these breakthroughs will inevitably diffuse globally due to their immense economic and environmental advantages. Like space-derived innovations such as satellite technology and computing, fusion's benefits will become universally accessible. Climate negotiations at COP28 underscore the difficulties inherent in international cooperation. Achieving even minimal consensus on reducing fossil fuel production (The 'transition away from fossil fuels' agreement) was politically contentious and largely ineffective, delivering superficial agreements that catered more to geopolitical power dynamics than to any meaningful climate solutions. Such bureaucratic delays and diluted outcomes illustrate why humanity cannot afford to rely solely on multilateral cooperation. Ultimately, the fusion race is not merely a geopolitical contest; it is a vital competition for human survival and global prosperity. While competition may not always be harmonious or efficient, neither was the space race. Yet, the space race advanced humanity dramatically. Allowing the fusion race to unfold unhindered may again deliver swift, transformative solutions at a time when humanity urgently needs them. Our planet and our future depend on embracing this competitive drive. Oded Gour-Lavie is CEO and co-founder of nT-Tao, a compact fusion power company based in Israel. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
