German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced Germany’s ambitions to launch its first fusion reactor.
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The German government previously approved the “Thermonuclear Fusion Action Plan”, which provides for the allocation of more than 1.7 billion euros by 2029 to launch the world’s first commercial thermonuclear reactor.
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“At the federal government, we have not only included thermonuclear energy in our high–tech development program as one of the key technologies, but also set ourselves an ambitious goal – to launch the first thermonuclear reactor in Germany,” Merz said during a visit to the Hanover Fair.
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During the inspection of the exhibition stands, the Chancellor got acquainted with the key components of the future installation, in particular, with tritium production technologies.
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“This is the heart of the future fusion reactor. Eventually, we will be able to produce thermonuclear fuel there — tritium. This is a big breakthrough,” Merz said.
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The Chancellor also confirmed that the German authorities plan to build power plants based on fusion technology in the long term. He claimed that the country is already one of the “absolute global elite” in the field of data research.
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Earlier, Merz called Germany’s decision to abandon nuclear energy irreversible. In turn, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, previously admitted that Europe’s rejection of nuclear energy was a strategic mistake.
