Singapore eyes role in global fusion energy industry - CNA
Singapore has built up expertise and a strong talent pipeline in areas relevant to fusion, such as precision engineering, advanced manufacturing and plasma diagnostics, says Energy, Trade and Industry Minister Tan See Leng.
Workers stand behind a device that will use magnets to create the conditions for fusion energy to happen, at Commonwealth Fusion Systems in Devens, Massachusetts, United States. (Photo: AP/Steven Senne)
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Ng Hong Siang 01 Oct 2026 02:24PM (Updated: 02 Oct 2026 12:44AM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST. Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SINGAPORE: Singapore is positioning itself to capture opportunities in the emerging global fusion energy industry, leveraging its talent, research and industrial capabilities, even though commercially operating fusion power plants may be years away.
Speaking at the FusionX:APAC event on Thursday (Oct 1), Minister for Trade and Industry (Energy and Industry) Tan See Leng said the country could support the wider fusion economy even without hosting its own fusion reactor.
"Singapore has built up expertise and a strong talent pipeline in areas relevant to fusion," said Dr Tan.
"This includes in precision engineering, advanced manufacturing, and plasma diagnostics."
CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Unlike nuclear fission, which generates energy from splitting the nuclei of atoms, fusion produces energy by combining them.
While the science behind fusion energy has been well-established since the 1960s, it has "proven to be extremely challenging because the atoms need to be held at high energy and pressure to fuse", said Dr Tan.
"Moreover, these reactions need to be maintained at stable conditions, for extended periods, to achieve an overall net-positive return on energy."
But in recent years, the world has seen significant strides made in overcoming these challenges, such as advancements in key technologies like gyrotrons and superconducting magnets to help companies achieve milestones in temperature and plasma confinement.
"Encouragingly, a fusion reactor has demonstrated net energy gain under experimental conditions," Dr Tan said.
