F4E is rolling out a Technology Development Programme (TDP) to help early-stage technologies mature and be ready for future fusion projects. The programme is launched with two pilots, through a call for proposals on the F4E Industry Portal, open until mid-December.
Through this funding scheme, F4E will support R&D activities in critical fusion technologies that are still far from being available and deployed by industry. F4E will periodically launch calls covering different technical areas in the field of construction and operation of fusion devices like ITER. The successful companies will work to advance, test and demonstrate the technologies.
The objective of the two pilots is the development of a wearable monitor for tritiated vapor in air and the characterisation of tungsten alloy gradient joints. Through this exercise, F4E will draw lessons on the process and implementation in order to design the next calls. The ambition is to reach an estimated expenditure of 50 million EUR per year in its future steady-state phase, ramping up from a 6 million EUR budget in 2025.
“The TDP will help us bridge the gap in key technologies from an early phase, led by laboratories, to a more advanced one driven by industry. F4E will cover the inherent risk in these exploratory stages,” explains Javier Serrano, F4E Programme Manager. Partners will retain the intellectual property of these results, provided they commit to exploiting them and converting them into operational technologies. F4E is mapping all relevant technologies and ranking priorities, in consultation with other fusion projects, industry and researchers. This exercise will result in the elaboration of technology roadmaps in various domains.
This strategic action is in line with F4E’s vision, which aims to build the capabilities for a competitive fusion supply chain in Europe by supporting technological innovation.
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