Symposium on Fusion Engineering (SOFE)

In July 2023, the IEEE SOFE conference came to the UK for the first time and Oxford became the epicenter of the global fusion community. Hundreds of scientists and engineers gathered in the 140-year-old Oxford University’s Examination Schools to progress fusion energy powerplant development. This was only the second time the event has been hosted outside of the US and had the event’s largest attendance since 1979 with nearly 700 delegates from 26 countries attending.

The 2023 SOFE conference provided an important platform where technical conversations between public and private fusion organizations could take place alongside the supply chain and academia. The program presented a diverse range of events and topics, including an International Panel discussion with representatives from Europe, the US, Japan, China, and South Korea, where the national fusion powerplant initiatives were discussed.  In the Fusion Companies Panel discussion ambitious plans to bring fusion to the grid were discussed with organizations from across the world including Tokamak Energy, General Fusion, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Hellion and TAE. 

The IEEE Fusion Technology Committee was also proud to present the 2022 and 2023 Fusion Technology Awards to Dr. Dennis Youchison from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Professor Jean Paul Allain, the now Associate Director of Science for Fusion Energy Sciences at the US Department of Energy. The Fusion Technology Best Student Poster Award was won by Matthew Riding from the University of Strathclyde.

In addition to the technical program the Young Professionals reception attracted a huge turnout and the Women in Fusion evening had a fantastic panel of inspirational people discussing how they carved out their careers in fusion.

Professor Mike Gorley was the Technical Chair for SOFE 2023 and said “Along with the astonishing technical work, conferences always remind me of the big picture, the true issues we have to face. It was palpable at the conference, that as fusion pushes towards demonstration or prototype devices, we must be cognizant of the enormous efforts still needed and the socio-economic challenges that must merge, and even lead, our technical efforts.”

“I also felt a sense of pride at our wider fusion community, there was clarity of mission across attendees, ‘the pursuit of fusion power for the benefit of humanity.”

“Everyone I spoke to at SOFE, all the questions asked, were directed at aiding our efforts on this historical challenge. We must maintain these deep personal connections across the international community and SOFE felt like ideal grounds to foster this.”

There has already been fantastic development in the field of fusion and SOFE 2023 demonstrated that it will be the strength of our global community that will make fusion energy part of the world’s future power supply.

Heather Lewtas, Chair of SOFE 2023, can be reached by E-mail at [email protected]