Every ray of sunlight, which warms the Earth and helps sustain life, is powered by the process of nuclear fusion. Due to the intense gravitational pressure and extremely high temperatures at the Sun’s core, tiny hydrogen atoms collide and fuse together, forming helium and releasing vast amounts of energy. Scientists around the world have been trying to replicate this process on Earth for decades. Their dream is to create a small, artificial sun in the laboratory, providing electricity to humans. But generating solar-like energy has proven to be one of the most difficult engineering challenges. To date, no country, laboratory, or private company has been able to generate even a single watt of electricity through nuclear fusion.
Despite these challenges, India has now set a concrete target in this direction. Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, presented India’s plans at the third high-level meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) World Fusion Energy Group in Vienna on November 12, 2026.
Dr. Mohanty stated that India aims to build an experimental fusion power plant between 2040 and 2042, generating 100-150 MW of net power. In other words, India has set a highly ambitious target of generating electricity from the artificial sun by 2042.
Industry experts are welcoming India’s clear deadline. They believe that India now has a solid roadmap for generating power from nuclear fusion. Professor Prabhat Ranjan, a former scientist at the Gandhinagar-based Institute of Plasma Research and founder of Agnira Sanjukta Private Limited, a New Delhi-based fusion energy startup company, says, “The 2040-2042 deadline is quite tight, but it’s not impossible. The real challenge lies more in engineering and arranging the necessary equipment than in plasma physics. This goal can only be achieved if the project receives early approval and engineering companies are involved from the outset.” Professor Ranjan has been working on generating energy through nuclear fusion for nearly four decades.
Addressing global leaders in the nuclear energy sector and representatives from various countries in Vienna, Dr. Mohanty said that the world’s perception of fusion technology is changing. He said that generating energy through fusion is no longer limited to scientific experiments; it is rapidly becoming an engineering reality.
Regarding India’s plans, he said that the next phase of our national fusion program involves building a demonstration project. This will be an intermediate-scale fusion pilot plant based on tokamak technology. The goal is to generate 100 to 150 megawatts of net power by 2040 and 2042.
A tokamak is a special type of machine. It uses powerful magnetic fields to contain extremely hot plasma in a confined space. It is considered a key technology for creating an artificial solar system on Earth.
It is important to understand why nuclear fusion is considered the future of clean energy. Today, most nuclear power plants operate using nuclear fission technology. This creates energy by splitting heavy atoms like uranium or plutonium. In contrast, nuclear fusion fuses the cores of lighter atoms like hydrogen. Two types of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, are commonly used for this.
This process releases a huge amount of energy. Its fuel is also abundantly available in seawater. Generating electricity using this technology does not produce carbon emissions. Furthermore, it also does not produce hazardous waste that remains radioactive for a long time. Unlike conventional nuclear power plants, there is no risk of the reactor going into uncontrolled meltdown. However, achieving successful nuclear fusion on Earth is extremely difficult.
This requires heating a special state of gas, called plasma, to temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius, a temperature higher than the Sun’s core. This extremely hot plasma is then contained within the tokamak machine using a powerful magnetic field to prevent it from melting the reactor walls.
At the IAEA meeting in Vienna, it was reported that private fusion companies have so far pledged US$21.9 billion in investments for the development of this technology. More than 90 percent of this investment has come in the last five years. Investment in this sector continued to grow rapidly in 2026. If the current pace of investment continues, total investment this year could reach a record $7.6 billion.
This shows that many companies and investors around the world have high hopes for fusion technology. They believe that in the future, it may be possible to generate electricity using this technology.
The Department of Atomic Energy’s Institute for Plasma Research (IPR) in Gandhinagar has been working on nuclear fusion for several decades. The institute has developed several experimental machines indigenously. These include the Aditya Tokamak, Aditya Upgrade, and
and Steady-State Superconducting Tokamak.
These machines have provided scientists with valuable insights into controlling and monitoring plasma. However, for the first time, the Chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission has set a specific timeframe for generating net power from a fusion reactor in India.
Dr. Mohanty stated that the proposed pilot project will use high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets. This project will utilize India’s own technical expertise, knowledge gained from domestic startup companies, and collaborations with other countries.
The world’s largest international effort in this direction is ITER. It is a joint project of 35 countries, being built in Cadarache, in southern France. The project aims to prove that generating electricity through nuclear fusion is scientifically and technically feasible. India is one of the seven full member countries of ITER. However, ITER’s purpose is not to generate electricity and deliver it to the electricity grid. It is primarily an experimental project.
India is playing a key role in this project. Dr. Mohanty stated in Vienna that India has completed the supply of more than 75 percent of its share of equipment and other necessary materials for ITER. He said that India has completed the supply of more than 75 percent of its commitments to the ITER project. This work has been done in accordance with the project’s safety and quality standards. He said that scientists worldwide are eagerly awaiting the commencement of experimental operations of this project in France.
India’s fusion energy program is also part of a larger plan to expand the country’s nuclear power capacity. Under the Atomic Energy Mission, the central government has set a target of increasing the country’s nuclear power generation capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2047. This will be the year of India’s 100th anniversary of independence. Its aim is to fulfill the vision of a developed India and help achieve the goal of net-zero emissions by 2070.
To promote private investment in the nuclear energy sector and modernize regulations, Parliament recently passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, also known as the SHANTI Act.
This law is primarily designed to promote private investment and participation in conventional nuclear reactors and small modular reactors. Dr. Mohanty explained that the regulations being formulated under this new law also include provisions related to deuterium-tritium fusion plants.
According to government data, India currently has 24 nuclear power reactors operating based on nuclear fission technology. Their total installed capacity is 8.78 gigawatts. In addition, nine reactors with a combined capacity of 7.5 gigawatts are under construction.