Inaugural Nordic Fusion Forum ‘moves the needle’ on fusion frameworks, regulations and finance

The Nordic Fusion Forum has launched aiming to the ‘move the needle’ in key areas including government frameworks, industry regulations, finance and private-public partnerships – to help the region’s fusion sector prosper.

Led by Swedish tech developer Novatron Fusion Group, in collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, the inaugural event in Stockholm also showcased the sector’s technical, industrial and commercial progress.

Delegates joined from academia, industry, trade bodies, investment companies and financial institutions. Access full event here.

During an opening address, Novatron Fusion Group CEO Peter Roos said widescale collaboration will be key in realising fusion energy’s full potential.

“It’s with great pleasure that we launch the first instalment of the Nordic Fusion Forum. A new industry cannot be achieved in an instant. First, we must create awareness. But we also need to communicate how we can accelerate business opportunities, technologies and collaboration to make this happen.

“In the past couple of years, we have met representatives from governments, authorities, industries and finance from across the globe. We have reached a point in time where we can see fusion playing an important role in our lives, and Sweden has great potential to harness a major share of this new emerging market.”

As leading industrialized nations refine fusion strategies, recruit top talents and invest heavily in public-private partnerships, the event underlined how the Nordics must act decisively to remain competitive.

During the opening panel on ‘Investments in Fusion – Global Trends’, Philip von Segebaden, Head of Investor Relations and Partnerships at Novatron Fusion Group said the vast majority of fusion funding still remains in the USA.

“It goes for most Deeptech, that there are more favourable conditions in the US compared to Europe. It’s no coincidence the vast majority of funding remains in the US, so the question is - how can we strengthen this in Europe, and more specifically here in the Nordics? Looking at an example from Germany, they have successfully incorporated a national budget for fusion - not only research but also industry and commercialisation. Other European nations are proving direct grants to in-country fusion companies. We need to see this happening here in the Nordics also.”

Co-host and KTH President Anders Söderholm said rapid development in fusion around the globe indicates that industrialisation is on the horizon.

“Universities and research institutes need to keep up and be part of this development,” he said. “We need to build our education system for the future with foresight in what will be needed in 10-15 years. KTH has a strong tradition in fusion energy, including Hannes Alfvén (the only plasma physicist to have won the Nobel Prize) who was a pioneer in the field. We have also operated the largest fusion experiment in the Nordics.

“We are happy to be part of the next phase in the evolution, partnering with Novatron Fusion Group in activities supporting research, industrialisation and commercialisation for fusion energy. We look forward to moving the needle around regulations and favourable conditions to allow fusion energy prosper in the Nordics.”

Headline speaker Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth Systems Science at University College London, provided insights on the potential and societal impact of fusion energy.

He explained that the world’s energy demand will double if not triple by 2050, with 80pc of the world’s energy currently produced by fossil fuels. According to his calculations, to ensure a successful transition to Net Zero we will need to produce 180pc to 280pc of today’s energy as renewable by 2050.

“This is the figure you should take home and sleep well with,” he said. “Global energy investment amounts to $3 trillion per year. That’s the market that fusion has access to.

“But where does fusion fit in? The first thing is fusion can create green hydrogen which is really important because renewable energy is difficult to move around the world. Through hydrogen, renewable energy becomes transportable. It can also be used for desalination which will become a major global issue due to lack of fresh water as temperatures rise. We need to solve the climate crisis, and we need to switch to renewables in the next 10-20 years to decarbonise. Fusion can drive the future that humanity requires and deserves.”

The Forum also saw The Fusion Industry Association’s Europe Director Cyrille Mai Thanh delivering a presentation on fusion energy development on a global scale.

“The FIA has outlined three top priorities to create a thriving environment for the fusion industry,” he said. “The first is ensuring regulatory certainty. By this we mean having a clear and separate framework from nuclear fission as two inherently different technologies. The second pillar is around money. We need to enhance both public funding going towards research but also unlocking private sector investment, which is strongly intertwined with regulatory certainty. The third pillar is around effective Public-Private partnerships. KTH and Novatron Fusion Group are a great example of that, but we need more activity to ensure we are working together towards the same goal to achieve commercial fusion as soon as possible in Europe.”

Opening presentations were followed by panels discussions including input on investments in fusion and global trends with Lisa Ericsson, CEO at KTH Holding, together with Ingvar Eriksson, Investment Manager at EIT InnoEnergy, and Philip von Segebaden, Head of Investor Relations and Partnerships at Novatron Fusion Group.

Further commentary on current affairs on the Fusion ecosystem and preparation in the Nordics was provided by Camilla Hoflund, CEO at Studsvik Nuclear AB, Henrikki Talvitie, CEO at St1, Markus Airila, Fusion Team Leader at VTT and Balder Hagert, Head of Portfolio at Kärnfull Next. Delegates also heard from Carl Berglöf, Swedish national nuclear new-build coordinator and Peter Strannegård, CEO at Fortum Sweden.

The Forum was moderated by Novatron Chief Communications Officer Linda Nyberg.