In accordance with the 4th Master Plan to Promote Development of Fusion Energy(`22~`26), this event follows up on the National Fusion Energy Committee’s “Basic Concepts for K-DEMO” approved in February, and pursues both the development of key technologies required for viable fusion and the development of K-DEMO designs.

To design the K-DEMO, a ‘Fusion Energy Electricity Production Design Preparatory Taskforce’(Design Prep TF) was formed with experts from industry, academia, and research institutes. The taskforce will proceed with a phased design to complete K-DEMO designs by 2035.

The design will follow through 3 phases. Phase 1 will be the completion of preliminary conceptual designs and establishing a licensing framework by 2026. Phase 2 will consist of establishing design standards and completing conceptual designs by 2030. The final phase-phase 3-will pursue fully completed engineering designs and applying licensing by 2035. After reviewing the implementation details at each phase, the progression to the next phase will be determined. 

The Design Prep TF will be led by an Steering committee that oversees and manages K-DEMO designs and implements specific action plans. It will also feature a Design Integration Team that integrates various design elements and manages design changes, a Design Advisory Committee that provides input into various design issues, and 12 working groups that work on various specific equipment designs.

The Design Prep TF will engage in design work with aims to complete phase 1 by producing a preliminary conceptual design by 2026.

Furthermore, the Design Prep TF will include participation by 20 private businesses that have either participated in the construction of KSTAR and ITER or expressed interest in participating in future demonstration efforts. This is expected to develop private enterprises that can take the lead as fusion energy becomes commercially available in the future.

Sun-hak Cho from the Ministry of Science and ICT’s Big Science Cooperation Division said that with efforts by start-ups and other businesses pushing for demonstrable fusion energy ramping up, the odds of fusion energy expanding as an industry sector are increasing. As such, this design taskforce focuses on forming a system that features joint participation from industry, academia, and research institutes.

Furthermore, in addition to forming this taskforce to ensure that the lessons and advanced technology gained through participating in KSTAR and ITER projects can propel Korea into a leading position in the demonstration phase, we will work with private parties to form a long-term research & development roadmap for the acquisition of key technologies required for fusion energy demonstration by this year.