digiLab and the Fusion Industry Association Launch Committee on Digital Technologies to Support Innovation Across the Fusion Industry

In recent months, digiLab and the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) have launched a Committee on Digital Technologies for the fusion industry. The committee is dedicated to advancing the role of digital technologies in fusion and serves as a collaborative network of experts in the field, with members including industry experts in simulation, advanced control and data, collectively working to support innovation in the field.

Mission of the Committee on Digital Technologies

The core mission of the committee is to develop a single voice for digital technologies in the fusion industry and support the digital needs of the fusion community. As this committee acts as a collaborative network, its mission is to connect and educate fusion companies and digital suppliers to foster fusion development.

Dr. Cyd Cowley and Dr. Ross Allen, digiLab’s Solutions Engineers, have been serving as the inaugural chairs of the committee, bringing valuable AI expertise to the forefront of fusion innovation. As a committee, they are creating an advocacy document that is pushing for more open data from public institutions. This will enable AI companies, like digiLab, to be able to add value to the industry. Other fusion companies will also be able to use years of research data to advance their own progress towards fusion energy.

Scope of the Committee

As one of the most promisingly beneficial yet technologically challenging industries in the world, fusion relies on cutting-edge technology to achieve commercially viable fusion power plants. As a solution to this, the Digital Committee was established to drive progress by supporting topics areas such as:

• AI & Machine learning: Including AI algorithms for control and optimisation, surrogate modelling, data analysis, and uncertainty quantification.

  
  

• High performance computing & advanced simulation software: Including the development and allocation of supercomputers, GPU-enhanced codes, and novel numerical methods.

  
  

• Instrumentation and Control (I&C): Including diagnostics, controllers, data acquisition, and control algorithms.

  
  

• Data access & handling: Including making data open and fair, ensuring consistent data structures and conventions, and the transfer of data within control systems.

Key Aims of the Committee

The Committee aims to:

• Promote digital technologies – both to governments and other companies – as an impactful resource for accelerating fusion research and deployment.

  
  

• Develop a voice for what is needed to enable digital technologies in fusion, including:

  
  

  1. Public funding

  2. Skills & training

  3. Facilities

  4. Regulation and quality assurance

     
     

• Provide the latest data and insights on the digital supply chain to the FIA, which will feed into reports and government engagement.

  
  

• Provide a network between various suppliers and developers who need or create digital technologies in fusion.

About the FIA

The Fusion Industry Association is a non-profit organisation composed of private companies working to make commercial fusion energy a reality. They are dedicated to accelerating the development of commercial fusion energy through advocacy and education.

FIA is driven by a passionate belief that affordable, clean energy is desperately needed in the world, and that fusion power is a viable solution. This belief generates their efforts to provide support across the private, public, and philanthropic sectors to accelerate the development of tomorrow’s fusion power economy.