Department of Energy Awards $36.4 Million in Awards for Fusion Energy Research

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced it has awarded $36.4 million in funding to 37 research projects to advance the practical usage of fusion energy science as a potential energy source. The awards are sponsored by the Office of Fusion Energy Science (FES), which falls under the DOE Office of Science. Among the awardees are researchers from the private sector, four of the DOE National Labs—Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos, Princeton Plasma Physics, and Oak Ridge—and 12 different universities.

The projects all advance the goals of the FES, which are:

• Advance the fundamental science of magnetically confined plasmas to develop the predictive capability needed for a sustainable fusion energy source;
• Support the development of the scientific understanding required to design and deploy the materials needed to support a burning plasma environment;
• Pursue scientific opportunities and grand challenges in high energy density plasma science to better understand our universe, and to enhance national security and economic competitiveness;
• Increase the fundamental understanding of basic plasma science, including both burning plasma and low temperature plasma science and engineering, to enhance economic competiveness and to create opportunities for a broader range of science-based applications.

The projects were selected by peer review and are expected to last up to four years. For more information on the FES, and for a full list of project awardees, click here: https://science.energy.gov/fes/