Last month, our very own Simon Woodruff attended FUSION24 in London. This fantastic event saw fusion energy leaders from around the world gather to learn more about the opportunities that this emerging industry offers businesses, communities and the planet.
From all the excellent presentations, meetings and discussions, Simon has taken a wide view to outline the two top trends of thought that emerged from the event.
Forging the Future
The good news is that the future for fusion is bright and making great progress. Significantly, fusion and enabling technology companies are now considered to be investable by a broad consensus in the investment community. This is absolutely vital for ongoing success and bringing fusion solutions to market at scale. Throughout my attendance at the event, I met with key industry leaders and decision-makers who are all looking to grow rapidly – demonstrating a level of optimism for the sector which has not been as bright in previous years. It was extremely encouraging to attend panel sessions which demonstrated enthusiasm for new leadership in the private fusion arena, with greater diversity, women and younger members taking a much more prominent place on the agenda. Overall, there is great optimism and excitement being expressed about fusion, with the view that it will be commercial ‘sooner than we think.’
Building solid supply chains
It certainly feels like the desire for fusion energy and the faith in it is truly being supported, and invested in. However, as ever, one of the key challenges is the development of proper supply chains for equipment and materials. Almost across the board, fusion companies can’t get enough of what they need from existing supply chains and are either bringing manufacturing capabilities inhouse or are starting to demand that governments seed the supply chain.
Herein lies the conundrum; fusion companies need suppliers to scale ahead of demand, otherwise the new found drive and investment in the sector will stall.
The question now is how can we support this? As a sector, we need to look at the processes, guarantees and reassurances that will allow us to navigate these challenges and create opportunities that work for everyone and fulfill our ambition to provide the fusion power the world needs.