FIA Holds 2025 Policy Conference

​On February 25 – 26, the Fusion Industry Association hosted our fourth annual policy conference. The conference is a space for leaders in government, industry, science, and academia to come together and discuss concrete ways to accelerate the path to fusion commercialization.  

This year’s conference brought together over 350 global fusion leaders in Washington, DC, for two full days of panels and networking events. The discussions covered a wide range of topics within the fusion policy landscape, from public-private partnerships, to harmonizing fusion regulatory frameworks, the expanding fusion supply chain, and accelerating investment in fusion. Thank you to all who joined us! Below is a summary.

February 25: Day One

The conference kicked off with opening remarks from Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, and Ryan Umstattd, FIA Chair of the Board and VP of Product & Partnerships at Zap Energy.

Next, a fireside chat focused on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, featuring Brian Berzin, CEO of Thea Energy, and Dr. Colleen Nehl, Program Manager for Public-Private Partnerships at the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy. The Milestone Program is a public-private partnership program that catalyzes key milestones on the way to company-led fusion pilot plants. Modeled after the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program that allowed the space propulsion industry to rapidly accelerate in recent years, this program follows the same cost-share model. When a company reaches each milestone, they receive commensurate funding. In this way, the taxpayers are protected and the investment risk is taken by the companies, not the government. The fireside chat highlighted the crucial role of such government initiatives and the importance of partnerships across sectors. 

Following that was a discussion on deploying fusion in the UK, which covered the status of fusion commercialization in the country. The conversation highlighted how the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is facilitating regulations, public-private partnerships, and funding for key fusion programs. FIA UK Director Tristram Denton facilitated the discussion with two UKAEA leaders: Nick Sykes, Head of Operations for Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE), and Charles Prince, Director for Strategy and Investment for the STEP Programme.

We were then pleased to welcome Arnold Lumsdaine, director of the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE), a U.S. Department of Energy public-private partnership awardee program that provides the fusion industry access to technical collaboration with national labs and universities.

The following two sessions focused on fusion regulations. A fireside chat between The Honorable David A. Wright, Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and The Honorable Jeffery Merrifield, former Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, shed light on the importance of regulatory alignment for deploying fusion. They also discussed the role of industry and Congress in engaging with the NRC to ensure regulatory stability, highlighting the collaborative work done by FIA and the Congressional passage of the ADVANCE Act.

The international regulatory panel brought together fusion leaders from around the globe: Dr. Sally Forbes, Fusion Safety Advisor of the UKAEA; Yosuke Kubo, COO of Japan-based Helical Fusion; Dr. Lucio Milanese, COO of Germany-based Proxima Fusion; Beth Shelton, Director of the Tennessee Division of Radiological Health and Chair; and Andrew Proffitt, Regulatory Lead at US-based Helion Energy. The panel emphasized the criticality of a distinct regulatory regime for fusion separate from fission. Harmonizing domestic and international regulations was also identified as key for the future of the fusion industry.

Japan is a leader in fusion research, and the panel “Fusion Development Progress in Japan,” moderated by FIA CEO Andrew Holland, presented a variety of perspectives on their progress, ranging from private fusion companies to government ministries. Panelists included Daisuke Baba, Director of the International Nuclear and Fusion Energy Affairs Division, Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) and Cabinet Office; Dr. Satoshi Konishi, Co-Founder, Representative Director, CEO, and Chief Fusioneer of Kyoto Fusioneering; Michael Watson, Senior Director at Fujikura America; and Dr. Hiroyuki Nose, Senior Manager of the Strategic Technologies Division at IHI Corporation.

Senator Mark Warner and Commonwealth Fusion Systems closed out day one in a fireside chat. The Honorable Mark Warner (D-VA) spoke with Bob Mumgaard, Co-Founder and CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and Justin Worland, Senior Correspondent at TIME. The conversation focused on the role of fusion in securing global energy leadership and national security, and the recent CFS announcement to build their first fusion plant in Virginia.

February 26: Day Two

We started Day Two with an FIA Board Panel, featuring Dr. R. David Edelman, Chief Policy and Global Affairs Officer at TAE Technologies; Ryan Umstattd, VP of Product & Partnerships at Zap Energy; and Sachin Desai, General Counsel at Helion Energy. The board members discussed fusion regulations, public-private partnerships, the insurance regime, and the importance of the coordinated, policy-shaping efforts led by the FIA to achieve unified industry activity.

The importance of the United Kingdom – United States partnership for fusion was addressed by Dr. Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy; Oladipo Okusaga, Head of Energy and Climate at the British Embassy Washington; FIA UK Director Tristram Denton; Saskia Mordijck, Associate Professor of Physics at the College of William & Mary and Immediate Past President of the University Fusion Association; and Michael Ginsburg, President of Tokamak Energy.

While over $500 million was spent by fusion companies on the supply chain last year, further expansion is crucial for global deployment. The next panel discussed the greatest challenges and opportunities in supply chain expansion, including the need for standardization to enable scalability, workforce training, and government support. The panel featured Dr. Mark Pleško, CEO of Cosylab; Shaun Walsh, Chief Revenue Officer of Peak Nano; Jay Vitha, Vice President of Business Development at MetOx International; and Jackie Siebens, Director of Public Affairs at Helion Energy.

The following panel focused on the over $8 billion invested in private fusion companies and opportunities going forward. Dr. Guin Shaw, Senior Technical Analyst at Rutherford Energy Ventures; Chris Wendel, CFO of Focused Energy; Julien Barber, Climate Venture Investor at Emerson Collective; and Rachael Zisk, Journalist at Ignition News joined to offer their perspectives. They discussed the current funding environment, the role of government in de-risking and attracting investment, and the global fusion race.

To open the afternoon discussions, Laban Coblentz, Head of Communications at ITER, and Matteo Barbarino, Nuclear Plasma Fusion Specialist at the International Atomic Energy Agency, gave remarks. Coblentz highlighted the evolving role of ITER in collaborating with industry. Barbarino discussed the MOU partnership agreement signed by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and FIA CEO Andrew Holland several months prior.

The next panel addressed what it takes to get fusion on the grid, featuring Erich Fritz, Manager of Business Development at Dominion Energy Virginia; Chris Mowry, CEO of Type One Energy; Nicholas McMurrary, Director of International and Nuclear Policy at ClearPath; and Kathleen Robertson, Vice President of Emerging Technologies at the American Clean Power Association. The panel discussed black start, grid stability, deployability, and cost. 

The Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy panel followed, featuring Luke Murry, SCSP Commissioner and Head of Government Affairs at Marvell Technologies; The Honorable Mark Menezes, SCSP Commissioner and President & CEO of the United States Energy Association; and Abigail Kukura, Director of Future Technology Platforms at SCSP. The panel discussed activities led by the SCSP Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy, a 12-month effort to align government, academia, and industry around a shared vision for the deployment of fusion energy to secure America’s position in the energy transition. You can read more about the initiative and find their recent report on the SCSP website.

We rounded out the conference with the bipartisan co-chairs of the House Fusion Energy Caucus: Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Lori Trahan (MA-03), and Jay Obernolte (CA-23). They championed the importance of fusion as a bipartisan issue, the work being done by the U.S. Congress to accelerate fusion deployment, and the role of FIA advancing efforts and bringing stakeholders together.

Thank you to all who joined us! We’re excited to continue putting these discussions into action and are already looking forward to next year’s conference.