FIA and Jefferies Host NYC Climate Week Event on Fusion Industry & Investment
On September 23, the Fusion Industry Association and Jefferies co-hosted an event on “Scaling Fusion Energy – Industry & Investor Perspectives” for Climate Week in New York.
Fusion developers and investors provided their perspectives on the status of the fusion energy industry, investment driving acceleration, and insight into scaling. Special thanks to the speakers on our various panels.
After opening remarks by Jefferies‘ Aniket Shah, Managing Director, Global Head of Sustainability and Transition Strategy; FIA Chief Executive Officer Andrew Holland gave a status update on the global fusion industry – highlighting the over $7.1billion invested into private fusion companies and governments’ activity accelerating commercial fusion.
Benj Conway, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zap Energy, and investor Sam Bursten, Principal at Energy Impact Partners discussed the timeline of Zap and gave a perspective on the fusion industry, milestones, and projections.
Next was a panel discussion on industry and investments with Brian Berzin, Chief Executive Officer of Thea Energy; Charlie Baynes-Reid, Chief Financial Officer at Type One Energy; Jim McNiel, Chief Growth Officer at TAE Technologies; Kate Kelly, Chief of Staff at Avalanche Energy; and David Dolezal, Global Head of Energy Transition Investment Banking, Jefferies. This panel touched on the needs of the industry ranging from public-private partnerships to billions of dollars in capital.
The final panel focused on commercializing & scaling climate tech with Charles Boakye, Energy Transition Specialist at Jefferies; Laurens Speelman, Principal at RMI; Megan Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer at General Fusion; Phil Larochelle, Partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Rick Needham, Chief Commercial Officer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems; and Katie Rae, CEO of the Engine Ventures. Panelists discussed their experiences raising capital and what the industry will need to grow.
Thank you to all who attended and made it a success!
September 26th, 2024
