Moonshot Goal 10
Realization of a dynamic society in harmony with the global environment and free from resource constraints, through diverse applications of fusion energy, by 2050

Target

  • By 2050, to achieve a social system in which fusion energy is put to use in various situations.
  • By 2035, to demonstrate the use of fusion energy as a variety of energy sources, not just electric energy.
  • By 2035, to demonstrate the application of fusion energy through not only its use as an energy source but also other uses such as the use of particles produced by fusion reactions or multifaceted uses of elemental technologies.

Note: Fusion energy released when light nuclei (deuterium and tritium) fuse into another nucleus (helium). It is also the energy that makes the sun and stars shine.

Related areas and vision

Area: “Exploring frontiers with science and technology”, “Recovery for global environment and growth of civilization”

Vision: “Measuring, computing, and visualizing unexplored spaces”, “Environmentally neutral cities”, “Significant reduction of resource requirements”

Background to the goal setting

  • Fusion energy is the energy released when light nuclei fuse into another nucleus (helium), and it is also the energy that makes the sun and stars shine. The benefits of fusion energy are: carbon neutral, an abundant fuel supply, inherent safety, and environmental protection, and is therefore expected to be a next-generation energy that can simultaneously solve energy problems and global environmental problems.
  • In addition, fusion energy will not only serve as the foundation to support Society 5.0, which is proposed as the future society envisioned by Japan, but is a form of science and technology that will enable the sustainable development of humankind on a global scale and that will allow Japan to make a significant contribution to human society.
  • Based on the Fusion Energy Innovation Strategy, in order to expand the scope of fusion technology by “

Strengthening original emerging technology support measures such as potentially game-changing miniaturization and high-performance technologies”, as well as a stage-by-stage forecasting approach from the experimental reactor ITER, which is currently under construction, to a DEMO reactor and then to a commercial reactor, it is necessary to strengthen support for challenging research through a backcasting approach from a future society realized by fusion energy.

Moonshot envisioned society

  • Contribute to overcoming resource constraints
    　A terrestrial sun1 will be generated from the abundant resources in the ocean, and conflicts and starvation caused by the imbalance in the distribution of energy resources will be alleviated.
  • Contribute to solving energy problems
    　Contribute to Japan’s energy security by utilizing stable and abundant fusion energy.
  • Contribute to humankind’s ability to take on challenges
    　Utilize as a small power source, and enable humankind to take on the challenge of exploring unknown areas such as space exploration and ocean exploration.
  • Contribute to achieving a decarbonized society
    　Achieve a safe and secure fusion energy system and fundamentally improve carbon emissions in a wide range of industries and households.
  • Contribute to solving environmental problems
    　Reverse the vicious cycle that has existed since the Industrial Revolution by producing synthetic fuel from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
  • Contribute to solving problems through technology
    　Startups produced in Japan will lead the world in solving problems and developing technology.

1 A huge amount of energy (fusion energy) is generated by fusion reactions inside the sun. Fusion energy has been researched as a “technology to create a sun on the ground” with the goal of artificially causing a similar reaction on the ground.

R&D Projects

PD:YOSHIDA Zensho （Project Professor, Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Tokyo）

PM R&D Project
OKUNO Hiroki
RIKEN		 Development of High Intensity Neutron Source and Advanced Fusion System by Innovative Acceleration Technology
KISS Takanobu
Kyushu University		 Fundamental Superconducting Technology to Realize Various Innovative Fusion Reactor Concepts
HOSHI Takeo
National Institutes of Natural Sciences		 Backcasting Digital Systems by Super Dimensional State Engineering
OKADA Shinji
Chubu University		 Innovative Muon-Catalyzed Fusion Technology for Practical Applications
OZAWA Tohru
Waseda University		 Innovation in the Formulation and Solution Methods of Mathematical Models to Transform the Paradigm of Fusion Research
SAITOH Haruhiko
The University of Tokyo		 Interdisciplinary Development of Advanced Fusion and Antimatter Science Using Superconducting Dipole Fields
TANAKA Hideki
Shinshu University		 Development of Innovative Isotope Separation System for the Realization of Compact Fusion Fuel Cycle
TANIGAWA Hiroyasu
National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology		 Development of Autonomous Breeding Blanket for Compact Fusion Reactors
FUJIOKA Shinsuke
The University of Osaka		 Fusion Reactor Using Optical Enhancement Cavity Laser
MORI Yoshitaka
EX-Fusion Inc.		 Development of Inertial Fusion Modules Powered by Blue-Violet Semiconductor Lasers
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