Geopolitics could put squeeze on NZ’s nuclear fusion hopes

OpenStar’s Rod Badcock and MetOx’s Will Reynolds, pictured in New Zealand. (Image: Supplied)

Tue, 07 Oct 2025

A critical technology in New Zealand’s nascent high-tech sectors could face a global “gold rush” of demand outstripping supply.High temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes are used in experimental fusion reactors and hydrogen electric aircraft engines and are on track for wider use in data centres. The current global HTS production rate is about 10,000km a year.OpenStar Technology, based in Wellington, is one of about 45 companies around the world working to commercialise fusion energy, according to a 2024 survey by the US-bas...

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