Experience, Perspectives, and Practices for Community and Public Engagement: Insights From US Based Fusion Energy Device Developer Professionals

As advancements in fusion energy technology continue building a case for the technical feasibility of commercial fusion energy, wider challenges associated with social licensing and sociotechnical viability are becoming increasingly urgent considerations. Given the importance of these challenges and the criticality of early decision making for downstream success, there is a clear need for meaningful public engagement on fusion energy as it moves toward initial deployments and subsequent scaling. As such, this presentation explores findings from a qualitative, interview-based research study on fusion energy community and public engagement with industry participants from US based fusion energy technology developers. Findings highlight key themes including rationales for engagement, lessons learned from past engagement experiences, and perceived challenges and opportunities for engagements on decision making about future fusion energy facilities. In parallel with emerging research regarding public perspectives on fusion energy, these insights help paint the engagement landscape as it stands today and establish areas in need of additional exploration to inform future industry engagements with communities and the wider US public.