DOE awards $29M for fusion energy projects

Published on September 08, 2020 by Dave Kovaleski

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded $29 million for 14 projects as part of the Galvanizing Advances in Market-aligned fusion for an Overabundance of Watts (GAMOW) program, which is jointly sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and the Office of Science–Fusion Energy Sciences (SC-FES).

GAMOW teams will work to close multiple fusion-specific technological gaps to connect a net-energy-gain “fusion core.” Projects will address several research and development (R&D) categories.

“Fusion energy is a potentially game-changing clean energy source, but it has faced scientific and technical challenges for decades,” ARPA-E Director Lane Genatowski said. “GAMOW teams will work to further develop enabling fusion materials and subsystem technologies, with a focus on the timely future commercialization and deployment of fusion energy generation.”

While recent investments have been made in the development of a viable and net-energy-gain fusion-energy system, there is still a need for materials and enabling technologies to establish fusion energy’s technical and commercial viability once net energy gain is achieved.

“This program draws on the capabilities and expertise of national laboratories, universities, and private industry to tackle key technological challenges on the road to fusion energy,” Dr. Chris Fall, director of DOE’s Office of Science, said. “These projects will help keep America in the forefront of fusion energy research.”

GAMOW projects will work in synergy with both publicly and privately funded fusion-development efforts. ARPA-E and SC-FES will jointly fund the projects over the program’s three-year lifespan.

Among the awards, the University of Houston got $1.5 million for Advanced HTS Conductors Customized for Fusion, while Phoenix, LLC from Madison, Wisc., got $2.5 million for Application of Plasma-Window Technology to Enable an Ultra-High-Flux DT Neutron Source.

A full list of awarded projects can be found at https://arpa-e.energy.gov/.