The Campus Tecnológico e Nuclear (CTN) of the Instituto Superior Técnico hosted the ‘Fusion Industry Conference – Portugal 2024’ for the first time. The event brought together national and international experts and company representatives in Loures on 2nd December, with the aim of strengthening the Portuguese industry’s position in the nuclear fusion and Big Science sector. The event also served to celebrate the achievement of 100 million euros in contracts for the construction of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), won by Portuguese companies and the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN), a research unit affiliated with Técnico. ITER, an international structure under construction in France, will be the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world. It aims to develop a safe, inexhaustible and environmentally responsible source of energy, reproducing the process that produces energy from the sun and stars.
Bruno Gonçalves, President of IPFN and Researcher at Técnico, said that ‘in addition to ITER, the Big Science markets, such as CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research), ESO (European Southern Observatory) and ESA (European Space Agency), offer Portuguese companies the chance to develop unprecedented technologies’. ‘With recent private investments in fusion reaching 7 billion euros globally and the Big Science market valued at 40 billion euros, this ecosystem represents a transformative opportunity,’ he added.
During the event, organised by the Agência Nacional de Inovação (ANI), in collaboration with IPFN, Municipality of Loures and Técnico, strategies and opportunities related to ITER were discussed, as well as the increasing importance of national industry in this sector. The need to maximise the existing synergies with a view to industrial cooperation and innovation was highlighted, in order to promote the country’s development and competitiveness. The emergence of several new companies, supported by universities, in the nuclear fusion sector was also emphasised, contributing to the development of fusion power stations and increasing the importance of academic institutions in research and the training of human resources.
Portugal currently ranks 6th in terms of turnover with Fusion for Energy and ITER, in Europe. According to the Portuguese Trade & Investment Agency (AICEP), this figure translates into the 4th highest industrial return index at European level, behind only France, Spain and Italy, despite not having nuclear power on its territory.
The event was moderated by José Antão, Industrial Liaison Officer at ANI. During the opening session, Rogério Colaço, President of Técnico, emphasised the importance of the CTN for the field of nuclear technologies. Ricardo Leão, Mayor of Loures, mentioned the advantages of uniting science, innovation and the economy to generate wealth. António Grilo, President of ANI, emphasised that ‘nuclear fusion represents the pinnacle of human ambition and the hope of a sustainable future in an energy-hungry society’. João Rui Ferreira, Secretary of State for the Economy, emphasised that nuclear fusion will change the course of the world’s evolution and announced a 6 million euros competition for R&D in Big Science, in small and medium-sized companies, underlining the government’s commitment to this ecosystem.
Also present at the event was Alain Bécoulet, Deputy Director General of ITER, who presented the work carried out by the organisation, highlighting the global effort dedicated to producing electricity through fusion. Benjamin Perier, Head of Market Analysis and Technology Transfer at Fusion for Energy, a joint entity of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), discussed business opportunities in the sector. José Antão, from ANI, spoke about the supply routes for ITER and other fusion projects, explaining how the development of these projects could influence the nuclear fusion sector at European and global level.
The round table ‘The Nuclear Fusion Industry Ecosystem in Europe and Beyond’, moderated by Erik Fernández, Director General of INEUSTAR/INDUCIENCIA, brought together Fábio Vinagre, Head of Industry Relations and Support Office at EUROfusion, and Giampiero Lapenna, Project Manager at Ansaldo Nucleare, to discuss the current state and prospects of this sector.
In the afternoon, Bruno Gonçalves (IPFN) spoke about ‘The European Nuclear Fusion Roadmap and the Portuguese Contribution’, emphasising IPFN’s role and long-standing contribution to the construction of ITER, the operation of the JET and ASDEX tokamaks and activities related to DEMO (the planned successor to ITER). The IPFN presents itself as one of the main national and reference suppliers in Portugal, responsible for the scientific contribution to the European nuclear fusion roadmap, within the EUROfusion consortium.
Marc Lachaise, Director of Fusion for Energy, then addressed Fusion for Energy’s industrial policy and instruments, explaining the path to realising ITER and building a European industrial ecosystem for nuclear fusion. Ali Benmoussa, from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, discussed the direction of the European Union’s strategy for fusion energy.
The conference culminated with a debate on the nuclear fusion industry, moderated by Carlos Varandas, Chairman of EURAtom’s Scientific and Technical Committee, which included interventions from Alain Bécoulet (ITER), Ali Benmoussa (European Commission), Bruno Gonçalves (IPFN) and Marc Lachaise (Fusion for Energy).
The last speech of the day was given by Ana Paiva, Secretary of State for Science, who praised the initiative and emphasised the resilience of scientific activities in this area, comparing the development of fusion with that of Artificial Intelligence.
