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More than one billion euros will be invested by the German government on fusion research over the next five years. "Fusion is a huge opportunity to solve all our energy problems,"聽聽research minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger, a member of the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP). She said it was no longer a question of whether fusion will materialise, but rather if Germany will be part of it. Stark-Watzinger announced a new support programme worth 370 million euros 鈥� which together with funds already earmarked makes one billion euros聽鈥� to strengthen activities already underway at the Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Research Centre J眉lich until 2028. The investments were aimed at creating a joint "fusion ecosystem with industry" to enable a fusion power plant in Germany as soon as possible, she said. In a聽paper presented earlier this year, the research ministry said that Germany was already in pole position in fusion research, and should make better use of this advantage by launching a new funding programme.

In August, German nuclear fusion start-up聽Marvel Fusion blamed a lack of government support聽in Europe for its decision to build a fusion facility in the United States. But support for the technology is controversial, with critics聽聽that the FDP鈥檚 enthusiastic embrace is wishful thinking which detracts from immediate steps necessary to fight climate change 鈥� in a similar vein to the party鈥檚 controversial support for聽synthetic fuels聽for cars, and聽hydrogen boilers聽for heating in the name of 鈥渢echnology openness鈥� or 鈥渢echnology freedom鈥�.聽Stark-Watzinger was聽聽at the end of last year for saying that a German fusion reactor could be connected to the grid 鈥渋n ten years鈥�, a timetable considered unrealistic even by ardent supporters of the technology. Germany switched off its three remaining nuclear fission reactors in April, which split atomic nuclei instead of fusing them.