Public Private Partnerships for Inertial Fusion Energy

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) will play a critical role in Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) and the potential commercialization of IFE. Although prior IFE related science and technology have been nearly all government sponsored, signficant private investments in IFE have started over the last several years and could grow, following the trend of escalating private investments in magnetic and magnetic-inertial fusion energy that are now collectively in the multibillion-dollar scale. Recently, signficant activities within the community have explored the role of PPPs in this environment and how they might be best structured to enable IFE, including a PPP panel within the DOE IFE Basic Research Needs effort. This talk will review some of the initial findings of these activities, including the potential roles and structures of PPPs for accelerating IFE RD&D, and perspectives on PPPs from the public and private sector.