Harnessing fusion for Saudi Arabia’s energy mix
https://arab.news/8qu6g
In recent years, the development of fusion energy has accelerated, promising to revolutionize clean energy production and reshape the global energy landscape.
According to the Fusion Industry Association, total investments in the fusion industry have surpassed $7.1 billion as of 2024, reflecting a surge driven by significant growth in both public and private funding.
Public funding alone increased by 57 percent in the last 12 months to $426 million, indicating government recognition of fusion’s potential.
This surge underscores the substantial benefits offered by fusion energy. Not only is it low carbon, but it is also inherently safe; fusion reactions are self-limiting and cannot cause meltdowns.
It is also reliable, with abundant fuel sources like deuterium, which is found in seawater, and tritium, which can be bred from lithium.
Globally, the race to harness fusion energy already includes 45 startups employing more than 4,000 people, all exploring various methods to achieve practical fusion power.
Helion Energy stands out in this burgeoning field, backed by Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, who has invested more than $375 million in the company. Altman’s support underscores the growing confidence in fusion’s potential to transform the energy landscape.
In a landmark move signaling corporate faith in fusion’s viability, Microsoft committed to purchasing electricity from Helion’s inaugural fusion power plant which is scheduled for deployment in 2028.
Such commitments not only validate fusion technology but also accelerate its path to commercialization.
Fusion’s potential extends beyond electricity generation. It could potentially become the next general purpose technology, fundamentally transforming the energy industry.
Recent breakthroughs, like achieving net energy gain from fusion reactions — as demonstrated by the National Ignition Facility in December 2022, where scientists produced 3.15 megajoules of energy from an input of 2.05 megajoules — make this prospect more tangible.
As energy-intensive technologies like artificial intelligence surge, demanding ever-increasing power for data centers and computational processes, fusion energy offers a sustainable solution to meet these needs without exacerbating environmental concerns.
According to Goldman Sachs, AI is expected to drive a 160 percent increase in data center power demand by 2030.
Additionally, a study led by researcher Sasha Luccioni found that AI data center processing technology uses more than 30 times the energy of traditional task-specific software.
By introducing fusion, Saudi Arabia can make substantial strides toward its national energy diversification goals.
Hamad S. Alshehab & Hassan M. Alzain
Data centers are already responsible for around 1-1.5 percent of global electricity consumption and nearly 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
Studies suggest that fusion’s evolution could stimulate economic growth, necessitate new policies and foster international collaboration to manage its development responsibly.
Saudi Arabia, through its Vision 2030 goals, has set a target of generating 50 percent of its energy from renewables by 2030, significantly diversifying its energy mix.
This commitment underscores the Kingdom’s focus on exploring new energy sources, increasing sustainability and fostering climate change leadership.
The potential benefits offered by fusion energy, which experts believe will provide cleaner, safer and more efficient power, could drive Saudi Arabia to establish infrastructure and resources to harness this potential when breakthroughs are made.
While this ambition is within reach, the critical question remains: What is the long-term unique value proposition that Saudi Arabia could realize as a result of pursuing fusion energy research and integration as part of its energy mix to meet its climate change goals?
Fusion energy results from combining two lighter atomic nuclei — typically isotopes of hydrogen such as deuterium and tritium — to form a heavier nucleus, releasing an enormous amount of energy in the process.
This reaction mirrors the energy production mechanism of the sun and holds the promise of providing a virtually limitless source of clean energy.
Unlike nuclear fission, which splits heavy atoms and generates long-lived radioactive waste, fusion produces minimal radioactive byproducts with significantly shorter half-lives, reducing long-term environmental and health concerns.
Additionally, fusion does not emit greenhouse gases during operation, making it an attractive option for minimizing carbon emissions.
Saudi Arabia aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, reinforcing its commitment to climate leadership. To sustain this momentum, the Kingdom can benefit from closely monitoring global fusion energy initiatives such as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project.
ITER seeks to demonstrate the technological and scientific feasibility of fusion power in collaboration with the EU, Japan, China, Russia, the US, India and South Korea.
Meanwhile, the Fusion Industry Association says more than $4.7 billion has been injected into fusion energy start-ups, which signifies the ambitions of the private sector to achieve a breakthrough in fusion energy development.
Although not currently a member, Saudi Arabia’s considerable financial resources and dedication to clean energy position are promising for future inclusion in such partnerships.
Engaging with established leaders in fusion research could facilitate the Kingdom’s adoption of fusion energy technologies, accelerating its fusion adoption progress.
While fusion energy offers immense hope for a more sustainable and affordable energy future, experts stress that significant challenges must be addressed to make it a viable reality.
Countries aspiring to develop fusion energy infrastructure need to invest heavily in research and pilot projects to overcome current technological hurdles and lay the groundwork for large-scale reactor deployment.
For instance, initiating a fusion reaction requires achieving temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees centigrade — hotter than the sun’s core. Maintaining plasma stability in such extreme conditions is a monumental engineering feat.
Currently, fusion experiments often consume more energy than they produce. Constructing reactors capable of withstanding intense neutron bombardment demands the use of advanced and costly materials.
Moreover, fusion reactions rely on tritium, a scarce isotope of hydrogen that is difficult to produce in large quantities.
The global momentum behind fusion energy development presents a timely opportunity for Saudi Arabia to invest strategically, collaborate internationally and position itself at the forefront of this transformative technology.
Embracing fusion energy could significantly boost the Kingdom’s long-term grid capacity and reduce carbon emissions from non-renewable sources, aligning seamlessly with its Vision 2030 objectives.
By introducing fusion, Saudi Arabia can make substantial strides toward its national energy diversification goals.
This advancement would not only meet the soaring energy demands of critical sectors like desalination plants, which are essential for providing fresh water in the arid environment, but also support the burgeoning needs of energy-intensive technologies.
By seizing this futuristic opportunity, the Kingdom can further advance its national energy security, stimulate economic growth, and solidify its role as a global leader in sustainable energy innovation.
• Hamad S. Alshehab is pursuing a master’s degree in finance at London Business School. He led the Strategy, Finance and Governance at Aramco’s Innovation and Product Development Center, LAB7, and is experienced in areas including control systems, digital transformation, entrepreneurship and innovation.
• Hassan M. Alzain is pursuing a master’s degree in environmental management at Yale University. He led the Environmental Science, Sustainability and Policy Group at Aramco’s Environmental Protection, and is experienced in areas such as sustainability reporting, climate policy, environmental technology and data assurance.
