Nuclear fusion has long been hailed as the 'holy grail' of energy, promising an energy-dense, continuous source of green energy with no risk of meltdown. The technical challenges to generate energy from fusion are immense, but so is the potential payoff. Within the last decade, the commercial perception of fusion energy has shifted significantly, with commercial fusion companies raising over US$9 billion to date, while an increasing number of governments see fusion as the modern day 'space race'.

Which approaches to fusion will succeed?

There are now around 50 private companies pursuing commercial fusion, with leaders in the industry demonstrating substantial progress towards generating net energy and securing major public and industrial partnerships. The development of the fusion industry is catalyzed by the growing demand for continuous green energy, which is essential for decarbonizing data centers and industry. Meanwhile, a number of key enabling technologies are reaching maturity at the same time as the scientific understanding and commercial interest in fusion. The question for commercial fusion energy is no longer 'if' but 'when'.

 

This report analyzes the commercial fusion market in depth, covering market trends, technologies, and key players. It explores the leading approaches to commercial fusion energy, including magnetic confinement fusion (tokamaks, stellarators, and field-reversed configurations), laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, and more. The strengths, weaknesses, and overall commercial potential of each approach is evaluated in a quantitative benchmarking scheme, the results of which highlight the most promising technologies to bring fusion power online.

Materials opportunities and supply chain challenges for fusion are explored in depth, including their fuels, breeder blankets, superconductors, first wall materials, and more. Drawing on the wide technical expertise of IDTechEx, the demand for certain critical materials in fusion is also discussed, along with potential challenges and opportunities in their supply and demand.

 

Is fusion still "always 30 years away"?

IDTechEx provides a set of detailed 20-year timelines discussing the deployment of different fusion approaches, their fuels, and the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of fusion. The decade ahead will be a pivotal time for the fusion industry, with many of the leading startups aiming to bring fusion power to the grid by 2035. These timelines and narratives are drawn from extensive research of the commercial fusion industry, including primary information from leading fusion startups and international fusion conferences.

Key Aspects

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the commercial fusion energy market, including detailed timelines for the fusion industry and a benchmarking scheme for the 7 leading fusion approaches.

 

An introduction to the value of fusion energy:

 A technical primer on the fuels and reactors used in nuclear fusion

 Comparison of fusion energy to conventional sources and renewables

 Discussion of the difference between fission and fusion, and their industries

 

Technical and market analysis of the 7 leading fusion energy approaches:

 A quantitative benchmarking scheme to assess the commercial potential of each fusion approach

 Review of the technical challenges facing tokamaks, stellarators, inertial confinement fusion, and more

 Analysis of the key players in fusion, including their achievements to date and future goals

 

Value chain for materials and components for fusion:

 Analysis of the key players and value chain for fusion materials and components

 Discussion of the key critical materials required for fusion energy

 Challenges and opportunities in the supply chain for commercial fusion