• SPECIAL TOPIC: POWER GENERATION •
Around the world, these programs are diverse in their aims and funding levels, but there is a clear trend towards government interest in fusion. The United States, Japan, and Germany made announcements in early 2023 about new programs to support fusion commercialization, in addition to the already robust support in the United Kingdom.
In the number of private fusion companies, the U. S. remains dominant, with 25 companies and the bulk of investment, but there has been important growth in countries like Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and Israel, while the UK and Canada have serious advanced contenders. Likewise, a regulatory framework for fusion— separate from nuclear fission regulation— is moving forward as well, with the UK being the first mover, followed by a decision by the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April 2023. This regulatory certainty will de-risk fusion and could unlock further private investment.
Following are some examples of major fusion projects around the globe.
Mighty ITER Currently under construction, the ITER Tokamak will be the largest ever built. It is a combined effort from 35 member countries involving thousands of scientists. The estimated EUR 22 billion cost is covered by the seven ITER Members: China, the European Union( through Euratom), India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States. Components are manufactured all over the world, ensuring each member nation benefits from the process, then shipped to the site in Saint-Paul-lez- Durance, France, for assembly in the vast stainless steel-clad assembly hall.
ITER will have a plasma volume of 830 cubic meters, a massive increase on the maximum plasma volume in tokamaks operating today of 100 cubic meters reached in both Europe’ s JET and Japan’ s JT-60. This huge plasma volume will enable it to produce a“ burning plasma” in which the majority of the
The ITER cryostat will be a fully welded stainless steel cylindrical vacuum / pressure chamber with overall dimensions of roughly 29.4 meters in diameter, 29 meters in height, and a finished weight of 3,850 metric tons. Image © ITER
heating needed to sustain the fusion reaction is produced by the alpha particles generated during the fusion process itself. The production and control of such a self-heated plasma has been the goal of magnetic fusion research for more than 50 years.
The ITER machine will weigh 23,000 tonnes. The vacuum vessel alone, with its ports, blanket, and divertor, weighs 8,000 tonnes. Inside the ITER Tokamak, temperatures will reach 150 million degrees Celsius— ten times the temperature at the core of our sun.
JT-60SA is a joint international fusion experiment being built and operated by Japan and Europe, in Naka, Japan, using the infrastructure of the previous JT-60 Upgrade experiment alongside new hardware.
40 Stainless Steel World Americas | June 2026 | ssw-americas. com