The European Commission and the European nuclear fusion research laboratories have launched a European joint programme ‘EUROfusion’ that will ensure significant progress in the utilization of fusion energy. This joint programme has an overall budget of at least 850 million euro over the period 2014-18, of which about half will come from the Euratom Horizon 2020 fusion energy research programme.
At the end of 2012, all EU research laboratories agreed a detailed goal-oriented roadmap to fusion energy by 2050. These same laboratories have now set up the EUROfusion consortium and will implement a 5-year joint programme to address the key scientific and technological challenges identified in the initial phase of the roadmap. The main focus during this period will be scientific and technical support to the ITER reactor currently under construction in France, and ensuring Europe is in a position to capitalise on the success of this pioneering project. The world's largest fusion research infrastructure currently in operation – JET, the Joint European Torus, situated at Culham, UK – will continue to be exploited by EUROfusion until 2018 and will play a key role in supporting ITER.
EUROfusion will also address fundamental issues relating to the next generation fusion demonstration reactor – DEMO – that will be connected to the grid and provide a blueprint for the deployment of fusion reactors across the world.
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