"Tens of Trillions of Won Well Spent"... Why the World Is Excited About 'Power Plants' That Can't Yet Sell Electricity [Science Scope]

'Artificial Sun' Safer Than Nuclear Power Plants
The Fusion Race to Reshape Energy Dominance

Editor's Note"Science Scope" is a feature that takes an in-depth look at specific scientific and technological phenomena, examining their significance and future prospects.

Assembly of the fusion reactor is underway inside the ITER tokamak in Cadarache, France. The world's largest fusion experiment facility, it integrates key components such as the vacuum vessel and superconducting magnets to validate technologies needed to realize an "artificial sun." Provided by ITER Organization.

Could we create a sun on Earth?

Once the stuff of science fiction movies, this question is now drawing tens of trillions of won in investment worldwide. South Korea, the United States, the European Union (EU), Japan, China, India, and Russia are jointly building the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France. In the United States and Europe, private companies are also joining the race to commercialize an "artificial sun."

What is striking is that there is not yet a single commercial fusion power plant anywhere in the world. There are no plants producing and selling electricity, let alone any that have proven economically viable. Why, then, are major countries investing so much time and money?

The world is not building just one power plant. It is building future energy dominance. Fusion is seen as a key technology that will determine who leads future energy markets and advanced industries.

Why Trillions of Won Are Pouring Into a Power Plant That Does Not Yet Exist

Fusion is attracting attention because it has the potential to address two challenges facing humanity at the same time.

Climate change calls for lower carbon emissions, while the spread of generative artificial intelligence (AI) is driving an explosive increase in electricity demand, particularly from data centers and semiconductor plants. The International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts that AI and data centers will account for a substantial share of future growth in global electricity consumption.

Solar and wind power are environmentally friendly, but their output varies with the weather. Nuclear power can generate electricity reliably, but it carries concerns over safety and radioactive waste.

A view of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) under construction in Cadarache, southern France. ITER is the world’s largest fusion research project, involving South Korea, the United States, the European Union (EU), Japan, China, India and Russia. It is validating key technologies needed for commercial fusion power plants. Courtesy of the ITER Organization.

Fusion is considered a next-generation energy source that could overcome both of these limitations. Like the sun, it produces energy by fusing hydrogen nuclei, emitting almost no carbon during power generation, and its fuel supply is virtually inexhaustible. Above all, it could serve as a baseload power source, reliably supplying large amounts of electricity regardless of the weather.

The true value of fusion lies in its being "technology-based energy." Countries with oil and natural gas resources have an advantage, but in fusion, competitiveness depends on the technological ability to operate ultra-hot plasma stably and to design and build fusion reactors. In effect, the basis of energy dominance is shifting from resources to technology.

"Fusion is not simply a power-generation technology; it is a strategic technology that will determine the future energy competitiveness of nations," said Yoon Siwoo, vice president of the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy. "It can secure both carbon neutrality and energy security. And because countries that develop the technology first are highly likely to lead future energy markets and related industries, major countries are investing with a long-term perspective."

Technical barriers that have stood in the way of commercialization are also coming down quickly. Advances in key technologies, including high-temperature superconducting magnets, fusion materials, and tritium fuel cycles, have fueled a surge in private investment alongside public-sector research. In the United States, startups such as Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) and Helion Energy are raising trillions of won in investment to accelerate commercialization.

Why Is Fusion Considered Safer Than Nuclear Fission Power?

Fusion may seem similar to conventional nuclear power plants because it harnesses atomic energy, but the underlying reaction and risk profiles are fundamentally different.

Today's nuclear power plants use fission, in which uranium atoms split apart. Once the reaction begins, it must be continuously controlled. If cooling is lost, it can lead to a serious accident such as a core meltdown. Spent nuclear fuel is also high-level radioactive waste that emits intense radiation for a long time.

Fusion, by contrast, produces energy when hydrogen nuclei combine. This reaction can continue only when ultra-hot plasma at about 100 million degrees and a powerful magnetic field are maintained at the same time. If even one of the conditions involving temperature, density, or magnetic field breaks down, the plasma cools immediately and the fusion reaction stops at once.

Simply put, fission is like a wood fire that keeps burning once it catches, while fusion is like a torch flame that can be sustained only as long as the necessary conditions are maintained. Just as a flame goes out immediately when its fuel supply or extremely high temperature is interrupted, the fusion reaction naturally stops.

"It is difficult to start a fusion device, but very easy to turn it off," Yoon said. "Even if something goes wrong with the device, the reaction does not run out of control; it stops naturally. That is fusion's greatest safety advantage."

Of course, fusion also requires the safe handling of tritium, and the problem of high-energy neutrons making components radioactive must be addressed. However, researchers say the likelihood of a major accident like those at Chernobyl or Fukushima is extremely low in principle.

ITER Is Not a Power Plant... A "Technology Platform" for Building Future Industries

A vacuum vessel sector module is moved into the Tokamak Pit by a large crane for assembly at the ITER construction site in Cadarache, France. ITER is the world's largest fusion project, jointly pursued by seven members: South Korea, the United States, the European Union (EU), Japan, China, India, and Russia. Provided by ITER Organization.

ITER, now under construction in Cadarache, France, is at the center of fusion research today.

Many people think ITER is a future fusion power plant, but its goal is not to generate electricity. Its purpose is to verify whether fusion can reliably produce more energy than is put into it, and to integrate and test in a single system the key technologies needed for an actual power plant. Even if ITER succeeds, a commercial power plant will not be complete until a subsequent demonstration reactor, or DEMO, has been built.

Why, then, are 35 countries participating in ITER, which does not yet generate electricity?

ITER's greatest value lies not in the "device" itself, but in the "experience." The data generated through successes and failures in the actual design, manufacture, and assembly of a fusion reactor will itself be a key asset for the future fusion industry.

"ITER is the world's largest international collaborative project to comprehensively validate the technologies needed to build a fusion power plant," Yoon said. "The experience gained through design, manufacturing, and assembly is the greatest asset for helping countries developing follow-on fusion reactors avoid trial and error."

Through the ITER project, South Korea has also manufactured key components such as the vacuum vessel and thermal shields, while building expertise in superconductivity, cryogenics, ultra-high vacuum, and large-scale precision welding. Design data and engineering experience gained through ITER are also being used in the conceptual design of the Korean Innovative Fusion Reactor, which is currently underway.

The world is not focused on ITER alone. The tokamak approach adopted by ITER and KSTAR is considered the most advanced, but a range of other approaches are also being developed in the United States, including laser fusion, field-reversed configuration (FRC), and Z-pinch, with the aim of building smaller, more economical power plants. It is still difficult to say which approach will ultimately prevail.

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From the Lab to the Power Plant... The Race to Commercialize First

Fusion remains an unfinished technology. Significant challenges remain, including economic viability, durability, the tritium fuel cycle, and fusion materials.

But the question the world is asking has already changed. In the past, the question was, "Is fusion possible?" Now, the competition is about "Who will be first to build an economically viable power plant?"

Strategies vary by country, but the goal is the same. China continues to make long-term, state-led investments in large research facilities and key technologies. In the United States, the government supports basic research while private companies lead commercialization. Europe and Japan are also speeding up development by expanding private-sector participation on top of their public research foundations.

South Korea is not behind in the race, either. Through KSTAR, it has developed world-leading technology for operating ultra-hot plasma, and through its participation in ITER, it has gained experience in fusion reactor design and manufacturing. Its precision manufacturing capabilities, built up in the semiconductor, shipbuilding, and nuclear power industries, are also considered a strength.

However, the nature of international cooperation may change going forward. Until now, fusion research has centered on open collaboration to address a challenge shared by humanity. But as commercialization draws closer, key designs, operational data, and manufacturing technologies are likely to become strategic assets for countries and companies.

The ITER construction site in Cadarache, France. Assembly is underway on the tokamak and vacuum vessel, key components that confine plasma at temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees. Provided by the ITER Organization.

Fusion has yet to produce a commercial power plant, and it is not possible to predict when it will be commercialized.

But the world is no longer investing only in the potential of fusion. It is investing in the future energy order and industrial leadership.

Steven Cowley, a world-renowned fusion expert and director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in the United States, said, "Fusion is no longer a distant-future fantasy; it is moving toward commercialization."

"In the age of oil, resources determined a country's competitiveness. In the age of fusion, technology will determine competitiveness," Yoon said. "South Korea must also become a key country leading the fusion era, building on the strengths it has developed through KSTAR and ITER."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.