Japan on Friday adopted its first-ever national strategy on nuclear fusion, highlighting the need to create a domestic industry in the field, as competition to develop and commercialize fusion power heats up around the world.

The strategy calls for the wider participation of the private sector in research and development of fusion energy, considered the ultimate energy source free of carbon dioxide emissions.

“We will list as our vision the industrialization of fusion energy, using (the country’s) technological advantage, in order to seize market opportunities,” said the report, compiled by the Cabinet Office.

Many scientists say the commercialization of fusion power is still decades away. They are aiming to achieve electricity generation in around 2050, with fusion only becoming a viable climate solution in the latter half of the century. Japan has been a major contributor to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a 35-year international research collaboration that aims to start fusion tests in 2035.

But the environment surrounding fusion research has been changing rapidly over the last few years, with investors abroad pouring billions of dollars into private-sector projects that promise to get commercial reactors up and running much sooner than ITER.

Against that background, the report says Japan should take a “multifaceted approach” that includes creating and supporting homegrown fusion energy industries, not just participating in ITER.

“Japan enjoys technological superiority and reliability in the manufacturing industry, which have been cultivated through past research and development, as well as the basic research infrastructure and human resource development system that support these advantages,” the report states. “On the other hand, in light of the accelerating situation in other countries, Japan is exposed to the risk of simply providing technology but lagging behind in industrialization and consequently losing the market competition.”

Under the strategy, the government will establish a fusion industry council by March next year to develop the related industries, as well as draw up guidelines for ensuring the safety of fusion technology.

Japan will also accelerate industry-academia collaboration, with the National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology, better known as QST, playing a central role, the report said.

In addition, the government will prioritize fusion energy education at domestic universities to nurture specialists in the field and seek to lure talent from such institutions overseas and from other academic disciplines.