Government Begins Site Selection for Fusion Research Infrastructure... "Laying the Groundwork for Commercialization in the 2030s"

Ministry of Science and ICT and National Research Foundation Hold Briefing for Local Governments
Full-scale Implementation Set for 2027 After Preliminary Feasibility Study Next Year

The government is officially launching efforts to establish core research infrastructure for the commercialization of fusion energy.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 23rd that it has begun the site selection process by holding a briefing session for the "Fusion Advanced Research Infrastructure Site Selection Public Contest" at the National Research Foundation of Korea.

Korea Fusion Energy Research Institute (KFE) operates the superconducting tokamak-type fusion research device KSTAR in Yuseong District, Daejeon Metropolitan City. Photo by Yonhap News

The goal of this project is to enable the early realization of fusion energy and secure global technological competitiveness. The site selection contest will be held for local governments nationwide from October 15 to November 13. After a preliminary feasibility study, the project is scheduled to be fully implemented starting in 2027.

Fusion energy, known as "artificial sun," is a future clean energy source. As major countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and China compete to develop this technology, securing technological leadership has become a national priority. Through this project, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to comprehensively establish research infrastructure for the development and demonstration of core fusion technologies and to set up a system for demonstration and verification.

The site will be selected as a single integrated complex. The National Research Foundation will form a selection and evaluation committee composed of experts to comprehensively assess the suitability and usability of candidate sites. The selection process will proceed in the following order: project briefing session, on-site inspection, and evaluation and presentation of site proposals.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to complete its application for the preliminary feasibility study in December and, based on the results, will finalize the project's budget and timeline.

Details on the project announcement and schedule can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation of Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.