Nuclear: ENEA joins the FUSION NOW association

ENEA has become a formal member of the international association FUSION NOW, which promotes a new public–private partnership that brings together research, industry, and the European Commission to accelerate the development of nuclear fusion energy under the EURATOM programme ^[1].

This initiative is one of the key outcomes of the GO4FUSION project, which is coordinated by ENEA^[2]  and funded under the Horizon Europe – Euratom 2024 programme. The project aims to establish a strategic alliance to promote fusion energy.

ENEA played an active role in establishing FUSION NOW, which currently comprises 37 members, including Eni and Ansaldo Nucleare in Italy, Empresarios Agrupados Internacional in Spain, and Framatome and Thales in France. A membership campaign is still ongoing.

The association's priorities include preparatory activities for the formal establishment of the partnership with the European Commission by mid-2026, and the periodic updating of the strategic document that will guide research and development over the short, medium and long term: the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) on nuclear fusion. Other objectives of the alliance include coordinating partners’ contributions to research activities and defining a monitoring system based on key performance indicators to assess effective target achievement.

'Joining the FUSION NOW partnership, as well as coordinating the GO4FUSION project, is fully consistent with ENEA’s commitment to promoting the development of nuclear fusion energy,' said Alessandro Dodaro, Director of ENEA’s Nuclear Department. 'We will contribute to the governance of the future European fusion alliance after having already coordinated the national programme within the European consortium EUROfusion, fostered the involvement of national industry and consolidated our role as a technical and scientific reference point in Europe, and strengthening Italy’s weight in decision-making processes.”

Following its support for the establishment of FUSION NOW, the GO4FUSION project will concentrate on setting up the European Fusion Stakeholder Platform (EFSP) and analysing trade associations involved in fusion across Europe. Other key objectives include promoting advocacy, networking and training activities, as well as developing tools for intellectual property management and technology transfer to protect and enhance European innovations.