Fusion Industry Association

Last updated
Fusion Industry Association
AbbreviationFIA
Established2018;5 years ago (2018)
TypeTrade association
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Membership (2020)
25
CEO
Andrew Holland
Website FIA

The Fusion Industry Association is a US-registered non-profit independent trade association for the international nuclear fusion industry. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2018 to advocate for policies to accelerate the arrival of fusion power. [8] [9] [10] Its CEO is Andrew Holland, former Chief Operating Officer of the American Security Project. [11] The Fusion Industry Association has 28 members and 35 affiliate members, including nuclear reactor designers, engineering firms, suppliers, academic institutions, and various professional services with business in the nuclear fusion industry such as research consultancies. The emergence of the Fusion Industry Association can be traced back to the 2013 publication of a white paper on fusion energy by the American Security Project. [12] [13]

Contents

The Fusion Industry Association's stated advocacy objectives are to encourage private sector fusion companies' partnering with the public sector for applied fusion research, to increase financial support for the industry, and to ensure regulatory certainty. [1] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] It is seen as one of the main drivers behind the development of Fusion Pilot Plants [19] and supported the fusion energy public-private partnership amendment in H.R.133 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, which authorized $325 million over 5 years for the partnership program to build fusion demonstration facilities. [20] The Fusion Industry Association has also played a role in the formation of the Congressional Fusion Caucus. [21]

Challenges facing the Fusion Industry Association include attracting the billions of dollars of funding necessary to create a commercial fusion power industry; improving the private sector's relationship with the public sector, including the world's largest fusion power science experiment, ITER; internationalizing a Global North-dominated energy development sector by bridging the North–south divide, and the credibility of some of its members. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear power</span> Power generated from nuclear reactions

Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants. Nuclear decay processes are used in niche applications such as radioisotope thermoelectric generators in some space probes such as Voyager 2. Generating electricity from fusion power remains the focus of international research.

Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with the design and application of systems that make use of the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide, some 440 nuclear reactors in 32 countries generate 10 percent of the world's energy through nuclear fission. In the future, it is expected that nuclear fusion will add another nuclear means of generating energy. Both reactions make use of the nuclear binding energy released when atomic nucleons are either separated (fission) or brought together (fusion). The energy available is given by the binding energy curve, and the amount generated is much greater than that generated through chemical reactions. Fission of 1 gram of uranium yields as much energy as burning 3 tons of coal or 600 gallons of fuel oil, without adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fusion power</span> Electricity generation through nuclear fusion

Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. Research into fusion reactors began in the 1940s, but as of 2023, no device has reached net power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Department of Energy</span> U.S. government department regulating energy production and nuclear material handling

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy-related research, and domestic energy production and energy conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear Regulatory Commission</span> Government agency of the United States

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with protecting public health and safety related to nuclear energy. Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the NRC began operations on January 19, 1975, as one of two successor agencies to the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Its functions include overseeing reactor safety and security, administering reactor licensing and renewal, licensing radioactive materials, radionuclide safety, and managing the storage, security, recycling, and disposal of spent fuel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant</span> Nuclear power plant located in New Hill, North Carolina

The Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant with a single Westinghouse designed pressurized-water nuclear reactor operated by Duke Energy. It was named in honor of W. Shearon Harris, former president of Carolina Power & Light. Located in New Hill, North Carolina, in the United States, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Raleigh, it generates 900 MWe, has a 523-foot (160 m) natural draft cooling tower, and uses Harris Lake for cooling. The reactor achieved criticality in January 1987 and began providing power commercially on May 2 of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy policy</span> How a government or business deals with energy

Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to climate change mitigation. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Energy is a core component of modern economies. A functioning economy requires not only labor and capital but also energy, for manufacturing processes, transportation, communication, agriculture, and more. Energy planning is more detailed than energy policy.

The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission is the federal regulator of nuclear power and materials in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear safety and security</span> Regulations for uses of radioactive materials

Nuclear safety is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The achievement of proper operating conditions, prevention of accidents or mitigation of accident consequences, resulting in protection of workers, the public and the environment from undue radiation hazards". The IAEA defines nuclear security as "The prevention and detection of and response to, theft, sabotage, unauthorized access, illegal transfer or other malicious acts involving nuclear materials, other radioactive substances or their associated facilities".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department of Atomic Energy</span> Department with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is a department with headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. DAE was established in 1954 with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first minister and Homi Bhabha as its secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy policy of the European Union</span> Legislation in the area of energetics in the European Union

The energy policy of the European Union focuses on energy security, sustainability, and integrating the energy markets of member states. An increasingly important part of it is climate policy. A key energy policy adopted in 2009 is the 20/20/20 objectives, binding for all EU Member States. The target involved increasing the share of renewable energy in its final energy use to 20%, reduce greenhouse gases by 20% and increase energy efficiency by 20%. After this target was met, new targets for 2030 were set at a 55% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 as part of the European Green Deal. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU's energy policy turned more towards energy security in their REPowerEU policy package, which boosts both renewable deployment and fossil fuel infrastructure for alternative suppliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energy law</span> Law governing the use and taxation of energy

Energy laws govern the use and taxation of energy, both renewable and non-renewable. These laws are the primary authorities related to energy. In contrast, energy policy refers to the policy and politics of energy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear renaissance in the United States</span> Potential U.S. nuclear power revival

Between 2007 and 2009, 13 companies applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for construction and operating licenses to build 31 new nuclear power reactors in the United States. However, the case for widespread nuclear plant construction has been hampered due to inexpensive natural gas, slow electricity demand growth in a weak US economy, lack of financing, and safety concerns following the Fukushima nuclear disaster at a plant built in the early 1970s which occurred in 2011.

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) is the national association representing the state public service commissioners who regulate essential utility services, including energy, telecommunications, and water. NARUC members are responsible for assuring reliable utility service at fair, just, and reasonable rates. Founded in 1889, the Association is a resource for its members and the regulatory community, providing a venue to set and influence public policy, share best practices, and foster solutions to improve regulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbon fee and dividend</span> Variant of carbon tax that restricts revenue use to direct payments to the people

A carbon fee and dividend or climate income is a system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. The system imposes a carbon tax on the sale of fossil fuels, and then distributes the revenue of this tax over the entire population as a monthly income or regular payment.

<i>Energiewende</i> Ongoing energy transition in Germany

The Energiewende is the ongoing transition by Germany to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply. The new system intends to rely heavily on renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy demand management.

Helion Energy, Inc. is an American fusion research company, located in Everett, Washington. They are developing a magneto-inertial fusion technology to produce helium-3 and fusion power via aneutronic fusion, which could produce low-cost clean electric energy using a fuel that is derived exclusively from water.

Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) is a spherical tokamak fusion plant concept proposed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and funded by UK government. The project is a proposed DEMO-class successor device to the ITER tokamak proof-of-concept of a fusion plant, the most advanced tokamak fusion reactor to date, which is scheduled to achieve a 'burning plasma' in 2035. STEP aims to produce net electricity from fusion on a timescale of 2040. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, announced West Burton A power station in Nottinghamshire as its site on 3 October 2022 during the Conservative Party Conference. A coal-fired power station at the site ceased production a few days earlier. The reactor is planned to have a 100MW electrical output and be tritium self-sufficient via fuel breeding.

In plasma physics, a burning plasma is one in which most of the heating comes from fusion reactions involving thermal plasma ions. The Sun and similar stars are a burning plasma, and in 2020 the National Ignition Facility achieved burning plasma. A closely related concept is that of an ignited plasma, in which all of the heating comes from fusion reactions.

References

  1. 1 2 Roma, Amy; Desai, Sachin (2018-11-12). "Fusion Innovation Crosses Milestone with Launch of Fusion Industry Association". New Nuclear. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  2. Tennenbaum, Jonathan (2021-01-16). "Race is on to commercialize fusion energy". Asia Times. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  3. Tennenbaum, Jonathan (2021-01-18). "America on a new fast track to fusion energy". Asia Times. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  4. Tennenbaum, Jonathan (2021-01-20). "Fusion companies aiming at trillion dollar market". Asia Times. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  5. Holland, Andrew (2020-11-13). "Political and commercial prospects for inertial fusion energy". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 378 (2184): 20200008. Bibcode:2020RSPTA.37800008H. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2020.0008 . PMID   33040662. S2CID   222277887.
  6. "Fusion Industry Association Announces Independent Incorporation and Expansion". AP NEWS. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  7. Carayannis, Elias; Draper, John; Crumpton, Charles (2022). "Reviewing fusion energy to address climate change by 2050". Journal of Energy and Development. 47 (1).
  8. Nehl, C. L.; Umstattd, R. J.; Regan, W. R.; Hsu, S. C.; McGrath, P. B. (2019-10-08). "Retrospective of the ARPA-E ALPHA Fusion Program". Journal of Fusion Energy. 38 (5–6): 519. arXiv: 1907.09921 . Bibcode:2019arXiv190709921N. doi:10.1007/s10894-019-00226-4. ISSN   0164-0313. S2CID   198179698.
  9. Michaels, Daniel (2020-02-06). "Fusion Startups Step In to Realize Decades-Old Clean Power Dream". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  10. 1 2 Carayannis, Elias G.; Draper, John; Bhaneja, Balwant (2020-10-02). "Towards Fusion Energy in the Industry 5.0 and Society 5.0 Context: Call for a Global Commission for Urgent Action on Fusion Energy". Journal of the Knowledge Economy. 12 (4): 1891–1904. doi: 10.1007/s13132-020-00695-5 . ISSN   1868-7873.
  11. "Andrew Holland". American Security Project. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
  12. "Fusion White Paper – 10 Year Plan for American Energy Security". American Security Project. July 10, 2014. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  13. "Fusion White Paper – 10 Year Plan for American Energy Security". Scribd. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  14. Roma, Amy C.; Desai, Sachin S. (2020). The Regulation of Fusion – A Practical and Innovation-Friendly Approach (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Hogan Lovells. p. 4.
  15. Holland, Andrew (2020-06-12). "Fusion Regulatory White Paper". Fusion Industry Assn. Retrieved 2020-10-07.
  16. Holland, Andrew. "Fusion energy needs smart federal government regulation". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2020-10-10.
  17. Slesinski, Daniel (2021-01-28). "NRC Hosts Virtual Public Meeting on Developing Options for a Regulatory Framework for Fusion Energy". Fusion Industry Association. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  18. Slesinski, Daniel (2021-03-30). "NRC Hosts Second Virtual Public Meeting on Developing a Regulatory Framework for Fusion Energy". Fusion Industry Assn. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  19. "National Academies calls for a fusion pilot plant". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  20. Holland, Andrew (2021-01-05). "Fusion Legislation Signed into Law". Fusion Industry Association. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  21. "FIA Congratulates Congressional Bipartisan Fusion Caucus". Fusion Industry Assn. 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-26.