The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $32 million (£25.6m) in new funding for the research and development of low-cost fusion energy concepts.
Under the Breakthroughs Enabling THermonuclear-fusion Energy (BETHE) programme, 15 projects will work to achieve cost-effective decarbonisation, while meeting energy demand through a grid-ready fusion technology.
The Under Secretary of Energy, Mark W. Menezes, said: Fusion energy technology holds great potential to be a safe, clean, reliable energy source, but research and development of fusion technology is often constrained by prohibitive costs.
BETHE teams will build on recent progress in fusion research and the growing fusion community to lower costs and further foster viable commercial opportunities for the next generation of fusion technology.