Bolster the fusion energy sector for the AI era

When the public and private sectors join forces, we may be able to pave the way in the new energy era.

Hwang Yong-seokThe author is a professor of nuclear engineering at Seoul National University. Technology and energy constitute the two sides of the same coin. They are the primary workhorses pulling the evolution of humanity. Energy is essential to power novel technologies for industrial advancement. Energy revolution has evolved in parallel with technology progress. The first wave of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century was propelled by steam engines running on coal.

The mass production system and information revolution in the 20th century was possible thanks to sufficient energy fueled by oil and nuclear power. Visionary innovations take form and become commercialized when they are backed by energy riches. Korea’s first nuclear power plant Gori 1 was constructed under the nuclear energy development plan of the Park Chung Hee regime in 1967 and began operation from 1978. Korea’s heavy-chemical industrial boom coincides with the activation of the Gori 1 nuclear grid.

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and related industries in the 21st century relies heavily on energy. The generative AI capable of human-like tasks require enormous electricity. For example, a Google search normally needs 0.3 watt-hours, but the same query to an AI chatbot consumes 10 times more power. According to the International Energy Agency, power consumption from data centers projected at 450 terawatt-hours in 2022 could more than double to 1,000 terawatt-hours in 2026.

The upsurge in power demand is straining big-tech companies in their emission-control goals to achieve carbon neutrality. The rise of novel technologies and industries calls for another energy transition. Government and ICT majors are paying closer attention to nuclear fusion as the dream energy source that can help solve the conundrum of achieving industrial advancement and carbon goals at the same time.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft have invested heavily in Helion Energy, a Washington state-based startup working to build and run power plants based on fusion energy, lauded as the holy grail of clean energy, by emulating the way the sun makes power. Funding expanded from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $6.2 billion in 2023 as Google, Amazon and other big-tech behemoths joined the bandwagon.

The race to commercialize fusion energy has accelerated due to the growing demand for electricity to power AI and computing technologies. China is estimated to be spending twice the amount of money the United States spends on fusion technology to butt against its archrival in hegemony over the novel energy option. Japan has launched Fusion Energy Council, dubbed “J-Fusion,” in April last year to join the race in the commercialization of nuclear fusion energy.

The Korean government has also announced a strategy to fund and expedite fusion energy development and power generation. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration aims to muster technology and industrial capabilities to speed up the commercialization of the energy. The government plans to establish an open research platform to enable universities and companies to share accumulated data and research infrastructure so that the development could be private-led.

The infrastructure to bring the industry, academy and research fields closer may help better address the complexities in commercialization. It can also be instrumental to bolster related education to groom brain power in the field for long-term sustainability. But there is much to be done. In the United States, there are over 40 startups devoted to nuclear fusion, whereas the startup foundation in Korea is lagging far behind the U.S. despite the sufficiency in the suppliers of related technologies.

There must be more support to cultivate new ideas related to high-temperature superconductive magnets and tokamaks — a magnetic chamber that produces nuclear fusion power — through startup ventures. Korea’s competitiveness can be strengthened when innovative ventures meet with supporting technologies.

As in all technologies, nuclear fusion requires a breakthrough to transcend to a new energy paradigm. When the public and private sectors join forces, we may be able to pave the way in the new energy era.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.