FIA Hosts 2024 Annual Policy Conference
On March 20-21, the Fusion Industry Association held our 2024 Annual Policy Conference. Taking place at Union Station in Washington, D.C., the sold out conference convened government, regulatory, industry, investment, and academic leaders to discuss the path to fusion commercialization.
Participants engaged in a multitude of discussions, panels, and speaker series throughout the 2-day experience. Thank you to all who joined! Below are pictures and an in-depth summary of events if you were unable to make it.
Kicking events off on Wednesday, Christofer Mowry, FIA Chair of the Board and CEO of Type One Energy Group gave opening remarks. Deputy Secretary David Turk of the US Department of Energy was welcomed on stage with Benj Conway of Zap Energy for a fireside chat to discuss fusion as a tool for energy security and an opportunity for a climate solution. Deputy Secretary Turk highlighted the need for collaborative efforts in global fusion science and friendly international competition.
A regulatory discussion between US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Christopher Hanson and former US NRC Commissioner Jeffrey Merrifield included points on working with international regulatory counterparts and engaging with fusion in the regulatory space as early as possible. The UK and US decisions to regulate fusion completely separate from nuclear fission have proven key to fusion’s development – countries that solidify risk-informed fusion regulations will be the countries to reap the benefits of fusion commercialization first.
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, made remarks on the important bipartisan support that fusion has established in Congress.
Afterwards, Charles Boakye, Jeffries; Clea Kolster, Lowercarbon Capital; Michael Teodori, Eni; and Phil Larochelle, Breakthrough Energy Ventures; joined moderator Megan Wilson, General Fusion to discuss the investment outlooks that companies should look to as fusion becomes a realized market for clean energy. The high investor interest in fusion was noted – backed up by Clea’s acknowledgment that fusion’s graduation rate from seed to series A funding is three times as good as other VC areas.
On Thursday, FIA CEO Andrew Holland kicked off day two of the conference with opening remarks, followed by presentations on IAEA updates from Ryan Wagner and an ITER perspective by Laban Coblenz.
A “Public-Private Partnerships” panel followed and focused on recent and upcoming government steps to accelerate commercialization. Panelists included: Daisuke Kawakami, Cabinet Office of Japan; John Staples, UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; JP Allain, US Department of Energy; Peter Schroth, Federal Ministry of Education and Research, BMBF, Germany; and Megan Williams, Focused Energy. The global race to fusion has begun – and competitive international collaboration is building.
Deputy Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Justina Gallegos joined to give an update on where the US Administration stands two years after launching the Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy.
Midday speakers and discussions focused on the obstacles, decisions, and pathways commercial fusion faces. A “Challenges On the Way to Fusion Commercialization” panel included perspectives on supply chain, tech R&D, and workforce opportunities, with participation from Sam Wurzel, ARPA-E; Alex Creely, Commonwealth Fusion Systems; Derek Sutherland, Zap Energy; Hiroshi Gota, TAE Technologies; Lukas Gruber, Leonardo; Megan Wilson, General Fusion; and Saskia Mordijck, University Fusion Association.
An “Alternative Markets-On the Way to Fusion Power At Scale” panel highlighted markets for commercial fusion other than electricity on the grid: medical, space propulsion, industrial heat, and battery storage are a few that fusion companies are pursuing. Carly Anderson, Prelude Anderson; Kieran Furlong, Realta Fusion; Koichi Masuda, EX-Fusion; Matthew Lipka, TAE Technologies; and Setthivoine You, Helicity Space; joined to give their perspectives.
The “End Customers & Grid Integration” panel pointed to the importance of early conversations and partnerships between fusion companies and first customers – with participation from Andrew Sowder, EPRI; Amy Henry, TVA; Jackie Siebens, Helion Energy; Michelle Patron, Microsoft; and Ryan Umstattd, Zap Energy.
Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, gave remarks on the importance of increasing federal fusion funding – noting that this year Congress approved record numbers for the fusion budget. Congresswoman Lori Trahan joined the reception to speak about landmark legislation codifying the US NRC decision to separate fusion regulations from fission – a recent win in Congress. Thank you to all the Members of Congress championing fusion development.
Rounding out the conference, Bob Mumgaard, CEO, Commonwealth Fusion Systems; and Nick Sobczyk, Axios; sat down for an on-stage interview, shining a bright light on fusion as a strong pillar in the journey toward a clean energy future.
Thank you to all who joined – we’re excited to continue putting these discussions into action and are already looking forward to next year’s conference.















































