{"id":634962,"date":"2025-12-16T00:17:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T00:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/634962\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T00:17:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T00:17:18","slug":"nuclear-fusion-a-solution-to-europes-energy-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/634962\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear Fusion: A Solution to Europe\u2019s Energy Woes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

High energy prices are\u00a0hurting<\/a>\u00a0Europe\u2019s tech hopes. Average electricity prices for heavy industries in the European Union remain\u00a0roughly twice\u00a0those in the US\u00a0and 50% above those in China.\u00a0Germany now has the developed world\u2019s highest domestic electricity prices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The energy crisis\u00a0drags down energy-intensive investments in data centers.\u00a0It hurts European firms trying to train and run large energy-intensive AI models.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fusion could help close the gap. It is a clean form of nuclear energy. By fusing light hydrogen atoms, fusion releases heat without the long-lived radioactive waste produced by traditional nuclear power. Fusion fits well with the EU\u2019s ambitious climate goals; it is a zero-carbon source of power that can complement renewables, reduce dependence on imported fuels, and provide high-temperature heat. Former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi\u2019s influential\u00a0competitiveness report<\/a>\u00a0prioritizes fusion in Europe\u2019s growth strategy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yet fusion\u00a0remains\u00a0at the margins of Europe\u2019s industrial policy, rather than at its center.\u00a0There\u2019s\u00a0no time to waste. American and Chinese companies now talk about connecting pilot plants to the grid in the early 2030s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In contrast, Europe\u2019s current roadmap looks cautious. It plans to launch its first demonstration plant in the 2040s, and large-scale commercial deployment\u00a0will only come afterwards. That logic made sense when fusion was regarded as a long-term research project. It fits poorly with an industry\u00a0revving up\u00a0large-scale projects in the next decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The irony is that Europe is a leader in fusion research. Its\u00a0International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor<\/a>\u00a0(ITER) in southern France has\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0a self-heating \u201cburning plasma\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a critical milestone in which the fusion creates enough heat to sustain itself rather than relying on external energy input. The EU also runs some of the\u00a0world\u2019s most advanced fusion laboratories, with its Barcelona-based\u00a0Fusion for Energy (F4E)<\/a>\u00a0managing more than 1,300 procurement contracts worth over \u20ac7 billion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

But European governance\u00a0remains\u00a0divided.\u00a0EUROfusion<\/a>, the consortium coordinating EU-funded fusion research, manages research programs but cannot sign partnership contracts with industry.\u00a0F4E<\/a>\u00a0manages international partnerships and industrial procurement, but\u00a0it has\u00a0no say over research projects.\u00a0The overlapping structures limit direct support for\u00a0private\u00a0developers who aim to build fusion plants.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Regulation adds an\u00a0additional\u00a0layer of uncertainty. For investors and utilities, the key question is simple: will fusion plants be licensed like nuclear fission reactors, or under a lighter framework closer to particle accelerators and industrial sources? The\u00a0US<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0UK<\/a>\u00a0have already separated fusion regulations from\u00a0those\u00a0regarding\u00a0traditional, much more dangerous nuclear power. Japan\u00a0is\u00a0following suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The EU has not. National governments, not Brussels, will license facilities. The EU\u2019s nuclear\u00a0Euratom\u00a0<\/a>agency\u00a0\u2014\u00a0the treaty-based framework that sets rules for nuclear safety, radiation protection, and nuclear research across member states\u00a0\u2014\u00a0should follow US leadership and separate fusion from fission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Financing\u00a0represents\u00a0another problem. Even though Europe hosts credible fusion companies, most of the\u00a0roughly $8-10 billion\u00a0in global private fusion funding has\u00a0flowed<\/a>\u00a0to US firms. European capital markets are cautious. Where the US uses public money to anchor private investment, Europe\u2019s fusion startups are left to navigate generic innovation schemes and national programs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The EU should refocus its research around commercializing, not just studying, fusion, according to the independent think tank the\u00a0Clean Air Task Force<\/a>. It should open its R&D programs to the private sector. It should coordinate major test facilities to pursue commercial projects. And it should treat fusion as a strategic green technology across EU law, making it eligible for the same industrial support deployed for batteries, hydrogen, and other clean-tech sectors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Unless Europe changes, many of its fusion leaders will\u00a0likely build\u00a0their first plants abroad, where capital, regulation, and industrial policy are supportive. Europe\u2019s role risks narrowing to that of a high-end supplier: providing components, codes, and talent to a fusion industry headquartered elsewhere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The coming EU Fusion Strategy, due at the end of this year or early next year, must decide whether fusion will become another sector in which Europe provides the science while others build the industry,\u00a0or whether the bloc is ready to bet big on a technology that could power its competitiveness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Anda Bologa<\/a>\u202fis a senior researcher in the Tech Policy Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA).\u202f\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bandwidth<\/a> is CEPA\u2019s online journal dedicated to advancing transatlantic cooperation on tech policy. All opinions expressed on Bandwidth are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.\u00a0CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.<\/p>\n

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