FIA Hosts 2026 Annual Policy Conference
On March 18-19, the Fusion Industry Association hosted our fifth Annual Policy Conference. The conference is a space for global 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 400 leaders for two full days of panels and networking events in Washington, DC. 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 going beyond the headlines in industry news. Thank you to all who participated. Below you can find a summary and links to the recorded panels.
March 18: Day One
The conference kicked off with opening remarks discussing the global race towards commercial fusion from Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association.
We were then joined by The Honorable Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy who delivered a keynote speech centered around the U.S. perspective on fusion and efforts around the newly formed Office of Fusion within the Department of Energy.
Following was a detailed discussion on the U.S. fusion roadmap and priorities led by FIA Director of U.S. Public Policy, Isaac Edwards. JP Allain, newly announced Director of the Office of Fusion, U.S. Department of Energy; Ylli Bajraktari, President and Chief Executive Officer of Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP); and Ben Levitt, Vice President of R&D at Zap Energy offered their perspectives on fusion policy actions and needs in the U.S.
We were then pleased to welcome Bob Mumgaard, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Commonwealth Fusion Systems and Tom Gibbs, Senior Business Development Manager at NVIDIA to discuss their partnership across AI and fusion in a conversation led by Chuck McCutcheon, Energy & Climate Editor at Axios.
The following two sessions focused on the United Kingdom’s leadership in advancing fusion. Mungo Woodfield, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of the United Kingdom to the United States of America provided an introduction on the UK perspective. FIA UK Director, Tristram Denton, then led a panel discussion on the exploration of the UK’s fusion priorities and recently announced 2026 fusion strategy. We were joined by Neil Cosgrove, Strategic Projects Director, UK Office for Investment; Warrick Matthews, Chief Executive Officer, Tokamak Energy; David Sandford, Deputy Director of Fusion Energy at the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; David Bryon, Chief Financial Officer at First Light Fusion; and, Zemfira Knott, Director at Northcourt Fusion.
Later in the day, a fireside chat between The Honorable Bradley R. Crowell, Commissioner of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and The Honorable Jeffery Merrifield, former NRC Commissioner 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 risk-appropriate regulations for fusion, highlighting the collaborative work done with the FIA.
The international regulatory panel brought together regulatory leaders from around the globe: Anna Bradford, Director, Division of Nuclear Installation Safety at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Yosuke Kubo, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development at Helical Fusion; Greg Black, Senior Advisor, at the UK Environment Agency; Hawkins DeFrance, Director of Regulatory Affairs & Safety at Avalanche Energy; and, Ed Harvey, Senior Health Physicist at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The panel focused on the status of fusion regulations in leading countries and the need for clear and harmonized policy delineating fusion from fission.
A panel discussion on scaling supply chains and workforce closed out day one. Marianna Ginola, Head of Nuclear, Fusion and Research Division at SIMIC SpA; Carlos Paz-Soldan, Director at Columbia Fusion Research Center; and Caroline Sorrick, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of E&P Technologies spoke with Greg van Dyk, Chief Executive Officer of Altrusion. The conversation focused on the growing need for a growing workforce across skills and sectors and the vital role that supply chains play in the development of commercial fusion.
March 19: Day Two
We welcomed Day Two with a brief discussion with several FIA board members: Alexander Valys, President and Chief Technology Officer at Xcimer Energy; Jackie Siebens, Vice President of Public Affairs at Helion Energy; and JC Btaiche, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Fuse. Moderator Scott Hsu, Fusion Partner at Lowercarbon Capital led the panelists in a discussion on their perspectives of the growing sector, priorities, and the role of FIA as the voice of the global fusion industry.
A keynote speech and fireside chat with His Excellency Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Sachin Desai, Vice President of Global Affairs at Pacific Fusion and FIA Board Chair followed. The two discussed the important role the IAEA plays in advancing fusion efforts among its member states and establishing global fusion regulation standards.
The next conversation was between Tom Bugert, Senior Director, State & Local Affairs, Helion Energy and Kelly Allen, Commission Board President, Chelan County Public Utility District where they discussed Helion’s permit for their first fusion plant in Chelan County, Washington, and the beginning of construction in a conversation moderated by Reuter’s reporter, Tim Gardner.
The following panel focused on an example of an international partnership accelerating fusion. JP Allain, Director of the Office of Fusion, U.S. Department of Energy; Ian Castillo, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Fusion Fuel Cycles; Satoshi Konishi, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kyoto Fusioneering; and Heather Lewtas, Chief Development Officer at UK Atomic Energy Authority joined to discuss the collaboration between the entities.
The following three discussions featured conversations going “beyond the headlines” behind several of the biggest news in fusion from the past year. U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03); Chris Mowry, Chief Executive Officer of Type One Energy; Tony Williams, Executive Sponsor for Fusion Projects at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA); and Jennifer Obertino, Senior Vice President of the Global Energy Practice at AECOM joined moderator Francisco “AJ” Camacho at POLITICO’s E&E News to discuss the Type One Energy and TVA Bull Run fusion power plant project.
We were pleased to welcome Megan Wilson, Chief Strategy Officer at General Fusion and Chris Sorrells, Chief Executive Officer of Spring Valley Acquisition Corporation III who discussed General Fusion’s move to go public earlier this year alongside Kathryn Clay from the Washington Post.
Two Germany-based FIA board members: Lucio Milanese, Co-Founder & Chief External Affairs Officer at Proxima Fusion and Günter Kraft, Chief Government Relations & Communications Officer at Focused Energy discussed Germany’s drive to lead in commercial fusion globally. In addition to the German government’s recent actions driving fusion forward – the launch of the Fusion Action Plan, over €2B in funding, and declaration that the country is “paving the way for the world’s first fusion power plant in Germany” – the two companies have been making rapid progress. The two discussed Proxima Fusion’s plan to build their first fusion plant in Bavaria and Focused Energy’s partnership with the Biblis government to site their first plant at a former nuclear facility in the region.
The next panel addressed what broader efforts are being undertaken in the European Union, featuring Markus Kind, President of Rolf Kind, GmbH; Michael Teodori, US Policy and Advocacy Specialist at Eni; Mark Pleško, Chief Executive Officer of Cosylab; and Saskia Horsch, Director Corporate Affairs at Marvel Fusion. The panel was led by FIA EU Director, Olga Bakardzhieva, and discussed the recent actions of the European Union to promote and develop fusion energy.
The panel “Japan’s Fusion Priorities,” moderated by Hiroshi Gota, VP of Corporate Technical Initiatives and Strategic Collaborations at TAE Technologies, presented a variety of perspectives on Japan’s fusion progress, ranging from fusion companies to government policy. Panelists included Akira Tsuneto, Deputy Director General for Science Technology and Innovation Policy, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan; Koki Yakushiji, Manager at Mitsui; Max Monange, Head of EX-Fusion America at EX-Fusion; and Kiyoshi Seko, President and Chief Operating Officer of Kyoto Fusioneering.
We rounded out the conference with a panel on what fusion can learn from other industries, featuring Jason Priebe, formerly at Blue Origin and now Vice President of Operations at Thea Energy and Kate Kelly, formerly at Microsoft and now Chief of Staff at Avalanche Energy. FIA Director of External Affairs, Caroline Anderson, led the panelists in a discussion on how borrowing from other industries’ playbooks can strengthen efforts and better prepare for scaling commercial fusion.
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.
