Fusion joins the family photo
The international showcase event for the worldwide civil nuclear industry makes space for fusion energy as part of a class of innovative technologies contributing to the conversation on energy.
From 4 to 6 November in Paris, at least 25,000 people—including exhibitors from 88 nations—gathered for an event described as “a marketplace for the global civil nuclear supply chain.” The sixth World Nuclear Exhibition took place in the context of global momentum behind nuclear energy, as nations grapple with demands for increased electricity to power artificial intelligence.
Fusion energy made its most prominent appearance yet at the exhibition. Sylvie Bermann, President of the World Nuclear Exhibition, opened by calling out innovation as one of the major themes of the three-day event. “This year, the World Nuclear Exhibition is bigger and bolder with newcomers and fusion.”
A packed session, “From Breakthroughs to Industry—Delivering Fusion Energy at Global Scale,” explored not only the state-of-the-art in fusion R&D, but also the urgent next steps, including supply chain readiness, workforce development, large-scale investment, and international collaboration. ITER’s Director-General Pietro Barabaschi emphasized how the project is sharing the know-how it has developed—and also the “know-how-not” acquired from years of trial and error. “To add value for society, ITER is sharing what we have learned so far with the private fusion sector,” also taking the opportunity to announce the upcoming publication of Volume 1 of the ITER Design Handbook.
See the gallery below for a few impressions from this year’s World Nuclear Exhibition.
