The Fusion Supply Chain – Scaling Fusion Energy from FOAKs to Thousands

Today, there may be up to 50+ different versions of first-of-a-kind (FOAK) fusion machines in development across dozens of private and public fusion programs. While they typically fit into four significant categories: magnetic confinement fusion (MCF), inertial confinement fusion (ICF), pinch, and hybrid approaches, each implementation has material differences in methodologies, techniques, form factors, and processes that present challenges to build a scalable and sustainable supply chain to scale the fusion industry.

From the days of Eli Whitney popularizing interchangeable parts to Henry Ford and the mass assembly line to Toyota’s Kanban methodology of supply chain management, we have learned that if you want to deliver goods and services in a high-volume, high-quality, cost-effective way, you will need a well-organized, multi-vendor supply chain. This is exactly what will be necessary to scale the growth of the fusion energy market. While a semblance of a supply chain has already started for the most critical of fusion components (high-temperature superconductor tape, for instance), it is still missing for the bulk of critical components utilized by fusion machine companies.

To scale the fusion supply chain to support mass deployment, the challenge is how to guide public policy and private organizations to find common ground on required materials. The goal is to provide this nascent supply chain with the tools and processes to adequately scale while allowing companies to focus on creating their unique IP for fusion machine applications.

Global Efforts For Scaling The Fusion Energy Supply Chain

Enabling the efforts to achieve commercial fusion on a global level, we need to help guide and leverage existing national/international agreements and standards bodies to achieve a secure and scalable fusion energy supply chain so we are aligned for the ”Kitty Hawk Moment” of putting fusion energy on the grid. One example of this is the Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy, led by Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), and SCSP President and CEO Ylli Bajraktari, aims to ensure that the US and its allies are at the forefront of the fusion energy market. The commission’s primary goal is to guide public policy and private organizations to find common ground on required materials and subsystems. Supporting this is the Supply Chain Committee of the Fusion Industry Association, which will work with our allied nations and their agencies to encourage the policies and funding required to build a secure and scalable supply chain. Much of this is outlined in the FIA’s recommendation for supplemental fusion funding.

As an example of this cooperation, the US and Japan have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate fusion commercialization efforts. The bilateral agreement aims to advance and build on the fusion initiatives of both countries: the US’s Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy and Strategy for International Partnerships in a New Era of Fusion Development and Japan’s Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy. Both countries have been advancing fusion initiatives within their strategies, and this partnership is a critical collaborative step forward amid the global race to commercial fusion.

As another example, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced the creation of the World Fusion Energy Group. This initiative aims to increase global cooperation among industry and government stakeholders to identify technology gaps, develop international solutions, and promote the integration of fusion into the energy market. The IAEA’s role in fostering international collaboration is crucial for advancing fusion energy development and creating a global supply chain to support future commercialization efforts. These partnerships and initiatives demonstrate a growing recognition that international collaboration is crucial for advancing fusion energy development and creating a global supply chain to support future commercialization efforts.

Other notable supply chain agreements include the UK’s efforts to sign bilateral agreements with several countries, including the US, to accelerate fusion demonstration and commercialization. Germany has invested 1 billion euros over five years in fusion research and is examining the need to develop fusion power plants. South Korea and Japan have committed to commercializing fusion energy, with South Korea targeting 2050.

Building A Secure Fusion Supply Chain

Building a supply chain is a nontrivial task. Still, a few specific policies on sourcing fusion materials and parts from allied nations and industry cooperation on common shareable subsystems will enable the multi-sourced supply chain required to scale from FOAKs to the scalable and cost-effective deployment of thousands of fusion machines. A supply chain model for the fusion industry needs to include the following:

1. Fusion Industry Component List: Our sector needs to create a list of the required fusion energy components for each fusion machine approach (magnetic, laser, pinch, hybrid) so we can identify what needs to be built and what raw materials are required.
2. Define Sharable Subsystems and Products: Identify the products and vendors currently available and used in other sectors that are used in the fusion industry.
3. Multiple Vendors: A supply chain is not a supply chain if everything required to build a fusion energy system is solely sourced. While every organization needs to realize the benefits of the products it develops, it should also understand the strategic need for a viable supply chain. Otherwise, we will not achieve 1,000 fusion systems.
4. Industry Standards: Each fusion energy systems manufacturer would benefit from helping establish standards and requirements for products and vendors to encourage investments by supply chain vendors. Open industry standards are used in virtually every industry to drive scale, revenues, and the availability of required products.
5. Industry Roadmaps: We must agree on roadmaps to ensure that fusion systems companies and supply chain partners can jointly develop and invest in new technologies (AI software, sensors, etc.) to drive scale, lower costs, and automate operations.
6. Public/Private Secure Supply Chain Compact: We must develop a proactive program to drive commitments from all industry players to establish a non-adversarial supply chain and share risks that could hamper the development of the fusion energy market. Each player’s commitment is crucial to the success of this compact.

Conclusion

The fusion industry needs a secure and scalable fusion energy supply chain to enable the mass deployment of fusion machines to power our electrical grid, to provide private power for large industrial concerns, and for heat sources for things like steel manufacturing. To achieve this goal will require the efforts of governments, standards bodies, and industry. As we reach a point in our world where electricity is the currency, these efforts become even more important.