Review of the event | January 20, 2026
Political framework and strategic context
The AM-SHIELD project is going on
Germany has identified nuclear fusion as a strategic priority at the highest political levels, with the objective of establishing the world’s first commercial fusion plant on its territory. A Nuclear Fusion Action Plan (October 2025, status January 2026) outlines the following:
- €2 billion in research, infrastructure, and demonstrator funding by 2029
- Germany’s positioning as a leading research hub and export nation, with strong industry and startup integration
- A political consensus that frames fusion as a game changer for CO₂-free, baseload energy. Notwithstanding substantial investments, the initial commercial grid operation is anticipated to occur around the year 2050. The plan is to achieve key technological and industrial milestones this decade.
On the conference sideline, a technical exchange was held with participants in the AM-SHIELD project (Fraunhofer IWS). The discourse centred on contemporary challenges and solutions in the domain of radiation-resistant materials and hybrid manufacturing strategies for fusion applications. In particular, the requirements for complex structural components in future fusion plants, and accelerated development and evaluation processes for new material concepts, were the subjects of discussion.
The AM-SHIELD project has been developed to combine additive and conventional manufacturing processes with a view to producing large-volume, functionally integrated structural components for fusion plants. The project also aims to efficiently evaluate the components’ suitability under fusion-relevant loads.
Conference content
The first conference day began with the official opening by Silke Launert within the framework of the Hightech Agenda Germany. Subsequent plenary sessions addressed national and European fusion strategies:
P. Schroth (BMFTR): Federal government action plan and funding landscape
E. Righi Steele (European Commission): European fusion strategy
P. Barabaschi (ITER Organization): Status and challenges of the ITER project
M. Lachaise (Fusion for Energy, F4E): Role of F4E in implementing European fusion infrastructure
In the afternoon, German start-ups presented their approaches:
- Proxima Fusion: Quasi-isodynamic stellarator
- Gauss Fusion: Integrated fusion power plant concept
- Marvel Fusion: Inertial fusion using high-power lasers
- Focused Energy: Additional laser-based fusion approaches
The program was complemented by contributions on enabling technologies, system concepts, fuel cycles, and the European fusion landscape.
The second conference day included contributions on ITER, F4E, and IFMIF-DONES, an overview of the German fusion alliance ProFusion, and a roundtable discussion on the regulatory framework (ReFus pilot project). Additional presentations addressed standardization issues (DIN), industrial perspectives (Go4Fusion / Framatome), and the scientific outlook of the IPP. The conference concluded with closing remarks by Dr. Arnd Baurichter (FILO).
On the afternoon of the second day, the Centre for Advanced Laser Applications (CALA) at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich was visited. The laboratory operates petawatt laser systems for research on high-intensity laser–matter interactions. In collaboration with Marvel Fusion, the laser is used to irradiate nanostructured fuel targets, which are relevant for laser-driven inertial fusion approaches.
Conclusions
- Nuclear fusion as a target technology is clearly prioritized politically in Germany through the BMFTR and backed by long-term funding.
- Participation of industry and start-ups is explicitly encouraged.
- High-precision manufacturing, integrated R&D, and scalable industrial processes are key competencies for future fusion projects and are highly relevant to D.I.S Germany.
Announcement | January 5, 2026
The Fusion Industrial Liaison Office (FILO) Germany invites fusion-energy industry, stakeholders, experts, and enthusiasts to join the 7th Forum Fusion on 12-13 January, 2026 at the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Garching.
FILO Germany is supported by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), implemented by VDI Technologiezentrum (VDI TZ) and serves as the central platform connecting the German fusion ecosystem. FILO is a collaborative forum that brings together industry leaders, start-ups, research organisations and developers to advance fusion energy technologies and future power plants.
The portfolio of D.I.S Germany, which combines ion beam technology, vacuum technology, and ultra-high-precision manufacturing, offers key technologies for future fusion facilities.
We are on site in Garching with two colleagues to learn more about national and EU strategies in this area, to get to know some of the start-ups and development companies and to listen more generally about the global fusion landscape and special ongoing programs, for example ITER.
Our participation in research projects
D.I.S Germany GmbH, Pirna and Mikromat GmbH, Dresden are project partners of the Fraunhofer Institute for Materials and Beam Technology IWS in the AM-SHIELD project, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) via the VDI Technology Center (VDI-TZ). Together with other partners, forward-looking material structures for the hybrid production of radiation resistant components in continuous operation are being developed.
