FIA CEO Andrew Holland Writes OPED for Investment in Fusion Energy as an Infrastructure Priority

Fusion Industry Association CEO Andrew Holland published the opinion piece, “US Must Make an Infrastructure Investment in Fusion Energy” in the Washington Examiner on July 13, 2021, pushing for the American government to increase its funding for fusion energy in order to combat the global climate crisis and assert the United States as a leader in the “race to fusion power”.

Fusion will provide clean energy that will help the U.S. to reach President Biden’s goals of zero-net carbon by 2035 and 2050, but the benefits of seeking fusion will emerge before the next decade. Holland points out, “Investing in fusion will create new, good jobs today as we build the facilities that will prove the science of fusion. It will create the high-tech industrial base that spawns spinoffs and a new era of prosperity.”

Holland’s article highlights the accomplishments of FIA member companies like Commonwealth Fusion Systems, TAE Technologies, Helion Energy, and General Fusion in their endeavors to build new fusion demonstration plants and achieve various scientific campaigns. The piece also references competitors that have already emerged in the market, citing China’s and the U.K.‘s recent accomplishments in funding and setting up regulations for fusion as an indication that the U.S. needs to step up to avoid falling behind and losing the industry altogether.

Holland states, “In this decade, fusion energy will show that it’s ready to move from scientific labs to commercial development.“ Fusion is right around the corner, and it is time for the United States to invest in fusion programs, like the Department of Energy‘s public-private partnerships program, and create new programs as requested by various members of the science community and Congress.

One such member of Congress advocating for increased investment in fusion is Representative Don Beyer serving Virginia’s eighth congressional district. Holland acknowledges Representative Beyer and his effort to advance fusion commercialization by leading the bipartisan Congressional Fusion Energy Caucus and introducing key amendments to bills such as the H.R. 3593 “Science for the Future Act.”

All of this evidence presents the central message of the article: The United States does not want to be left behind in the race for fusion. Holland concludes, “The economy of the future will be powered by clean, safe, sustainable fusion energy. Let’s make the investment now to ensure that fusion is also ‘Made in America.'”

Read the article on the Washington Examiner‘s website.