The United States Program for Magnetic Fusion Energy

The United States (U.S.) Government supports a national program that seeks to demonstrate the scientific and engineering feasibility of magnetic fusion. The goal of the U.S. program is to develop a reactor concept to the point where decisions on commercial development can be made. This goal focuses the U.S. program on moving from its present research and development status toward commercial development. The U.S. program is nearing completion of the scientific feasibility phase, which will demonstrate that a magnetically confined plasma can produce, on a laboratory scale, a significant amount of energy in a potentially useful form. The U.S. plan is to pursue, at a pace commensurate with available resources, the product definition phase, which will identify a potentially practical confinement concept, and the product development phase, which will develop the technical base necessary for decisions about the practical use of magnetic fusion. This paper provides an overview of the U.S. magnetic fusion energy program including goals and objectives, strategy, status, international cooperation, and budgets.