Imagine trying to bottle the power of a star to create endless electricity. This effort is building a giant magnetic 'bottle' to hold super-hot gas and turn it into power. It is like moving from a science experiment to a real power plant design that can actually plug into the city grid.
Current energy sources are either carbon-emitting or intermittent. There is a lack of a commercially viable, continuous, high-output clean energy source that can be integrated into the existing electrical grid.
A conceptual design for the EU-DEMO fusion power plant and experimental data from devices like JET and W7-X to validate plasma control and heat exhaust.
If you are a utility provider dealing with the need for carbon-free baseload power — this project developed the conceptual design for DEMO that aims to deliver fusion electricity to the grid in the early second half of the century.
If you are a manufacturer dealing with materials that melt under extreme heat — this project developed methods to measure fuel retention and protect plasma facing components to increase their lifetime.
If you are an engineering firm dealing with the complexity of reactor licensing — this project developed detailed assessments of technical feasibility, safety, and licensing issues for the EU-DEMO plant.
Based on available project data, the EU contribution is EUR 549,442,000, but specific unit costs for the power plant are not provided; the project focuses on assessing life-cycle costs.
The goal is to complete the DEMO Conceptual Design by 2030, with the aim of delivering electricity to the grid in the early second half of the century.
Based on available project data, the project includes detailed assessments of licensing issues as part of the integrated concept design for the DEMO plant.
The Conceptual Design of the DEMO fusion power plant must be completed by 2030 to allow the start of Engineering Design Activities.
The project focuses on the technical basis of a fusion power plant to create a complete integrated concept design that can eventually deliver electricity to the grid.
The consortium is massive, comprising 194 partners across 29 countries. While dominated by 115 universities and 58 research institutes, there is a strategic push for industrialization with 14 industry partners (including 8 SMEs). The 7% industry ratio indicates the project is currently in a heavy R&D phase, but the objective explicitly states that DEMO cannot be designed by labs alone and requires full industry involvement.
Contact Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften EV
Contact us to identify specific material supply opportunities for the 2030 DEMO design phase.
