Germany joins EU 's nuclear fusion push as Europe looks to energy security
Clean Energy Wire
Germany will join a new Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) on innovative nuclear technologies, "underlining its ambition to jointly advance" fusion energy as a strategic priority alongside EU partners. The move comes as Europe looks to secure long-term energy independence following the fossil fuel crisis triggered by the war in Iran.
The federal government has pledged more than 2 billion euros for fusion research and pilot projects through 2029, with the ambition of building the world's first fusion reactor in the country, as part of the Hightech Agenda Germany and the Fusion Action Plan. Germany's National Academy of Science and Engineering said in March the goal was achievable by 2045, but only with a massive investment and acceleration of efforts.
The new IPCEI aims to bring together research institutions, start-ups, and industry across Europe, with project launches targeted for 2027 pending European Commission approval. The scheme aims to strengthen European sovereignty in strategic technologies and increase EU industry competitiveness, according to an economy ministry statement.
Germany's fusion backing comes amid a broader European reassessment of nuclear energy's role in decarbonisation, with several EU member states moving to expand or extend conventional nuclear capacity alongside renewables.
In Germany, the picture remains complicated: chancellor Friedrich Merz said in March the country may need to keep some coal plants online longer than planned as it races to build new gas-fired power stations, citing energy security concerns. Merz ruled out restarting the three nuclear plants shut in 2023 as no longer technically feasible, but backed German participation in European small modular reactor research. The government stressed its IPCEI participation covers fusion only and does not extend to nuclear fission.
Fusion technology is still in the experimental stage, and even many proponents say that commercial use is at least decades away, meaning that neither Germany nor Europe can count on the technology in their efforts to become climate neutral by 2045 and 2050 respectively.