Daejeon City signed an 'International Partnership Agreement for Nuclear Fusion Industry Cooperation' at the Science Culture Center of the Institute for Basic Science on the 13th to foster the nuclear fusion energy industry, which is attracting attention as a future clean energy source.
On this day, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo, Korea Fusion Energy Research Institute President Oh Young-guk, and Richard J. Buttery, Vice President of General Atomics (GA) Magnetic Fusion Energy (MFE) Group in the U.S. attended and promised mutual cooperation for the development of nuclear fusion technology and fostering of the industry.
Accordingly, we will make joint efforts to ▲open the U.S. National Fusion Research Facility (DⅢ-D) and provide research support ▲strengthen cooperation between related organizations in Korea and Daejeon Metropolitan City on the DⅢ-D program ▲cooperate with Daejeon City and local private industry partners for joint development of fusion technology and achievement of mutual goals.
Immediately after the signing of the agreement on that day, General Atomics held a briefing session lasting about an hour to directly introduce the current status and outlook of the DⅢ-D project and ways for Korean companies to participate.
The city plans to actively support local companies to participate in the U.S. nuclear fusion project and enter overseas markets through this agreement. To this end, the city plans to conduct a business analysis in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy and select and support companies with technological capabilities and qualifications among companies located in Daejeon.
Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo emphasized, “As the era of artificial intelligence (AI) has fully begun, the issue of power supply and demand is emerging as a new topic,” and “Nuclear fusion energy will become a key energy source for power supply and demand in the AI era.”
Along with this, he said, “This agreement has been approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, and Daejeon City is the first local government in the country to officially pursue cooperation with the U.S. in the field of nuclear fusion. In the future, we will actively support Daejeon companies to advance into the commercialization of nuclear fusion energy, thereby creating tangible results such as increased sales and employment.”
Meanwhile, along with the signing ceremony, the '2025 Nuclear Fusion Industry Symbiosis Festival' was held from 10:00 to 17:00.
This event is hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and was jointly planned by Daejeon City and the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy for the second time in 2023. Various programs will be held, such as introduction and transfer of new technologies in the field of nuclear fusion, support for corporate exports, family business meetings, and exhibitions.
About 200 people, including nuclear fusion researchers and corporate executives, attended the event and discussed the direction of development and cooperation plans for the nuclear fusion industry.
Daejeon City plans to continue to revitalize the nuclear fusion industry ecosystem and actively support the global expansion of local companies.
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