Chris Wright Discusses Fusion Energy During Hearing to Consider His Nomination as U.S. Secretary of Energy
The hearing to consider the nomination of Chris Wright to be Secretary of Energy happened on Wednesday, January 15th, in the U.S. Senate. Wright is President Donald Trump’s pick to be Secretary of Energy, and would lead the Department of Energy (DOE) if sworn in. Wright is the CEO of Liberty Energy, an oilfield services firm, and studied fusion energy at MIT. He brings both an engineering and entrepreneurial background to the position.
During his opening remarks, Wright addressed three priorities:
- Restoring American energy dominance globally to ensure energy security.
- Leading the world on innovation and technology breakthroughs.
- Building and enabling energy infrastructure investments in America.
Wright was questioned by Senators on myriad energy and environmental topics, ranging from critical minerals supply chains to quantum technology. Throughout the hearing, he mentioned the importance of investing in all forms of energy to make it affordable and reliable.
Senator Cantwell from Washington notably questioned Wright on Fusion (02:08), in which he responded:
“This [fusion] is exciting new technology with huge room to run and has moved very rapidly – the last decade has seen more progress than in my lifetime – and I would love to see that come to commercial power in the next decade.”
Chris Wright
Wright also highlighted the criticality of investing in new and tested energy forms to ensure competitiveness against China and Russia.
You can watch the full hearing here.
January 22nd, 2025
