Fusion Leaders Convene in London for Global Policy Summit and FIA UK Fusion Forum

On September 14-15 in London, the Fusion Industry Association hosted the UK Fusion Forum, bringing together global leaders from across sectors to discuss UK capabilities and the key enablers of commercial fusion in the 2030s.

Preceding the UK Fusion Forum, on September 14, the UK and US governments hosted the Global Policy Summit. The Summit concluded with the signing of a joint statement by Michael Shanks MP, Minister of State in the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science at the U.S. Department of Energy. The Summit and statement emphasized greater collaboration, regulatory harmonization, internationally aligned standards, and stronger partnership to drive investment and deployment.

That evening, FIA held the opening reception for the UK Fusion Forum, before kicking off programming the following morning. More than 300 participants from the UK and around the world joined to discuss the policies, partnerships, market frameworks, supply chains, and skills needed to accelerate commercial fusion.

The Forum highlighted the growing scale of the UK fusion sector and the importance of collaboration across sectors and borders as industry moves toward deployment.

Below are some highlights.

• Welcome Address and UK Keynote: FIA Chair of the Board Kate Kelly delivered an opening address, followed by David Capper of UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero giving a keynote on UK’s fusion capabilities and where the country stands.
• Global Fusion Market Perspectives and Lessons Learned: Representatives from the UK, EU, Japan, and US provided perspectives on their respective fusion markets. Speakers included Tim Bestwick of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Audrey Verpont of Fusion for Energy, Satoshi Konishi of J-Fusion, and Jennifer Arrigo from the U.S. Department of Energy. The morning program also featured Lord Iain McNicol of the Nuclear Industry Association, discussing lessons from the fission sector that fusion can take forward.
• Private Developers Bringing Fusion to Market: Fusion developers discussed progress toward commercialization and the opportunities and challenges facing private fusion companies across different markets. Participants included Jennifer Ganten of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Andrew Proffitt of Helion, Anthony Harbridge of Type One Energy, Mark Thomas of First Light Fusion, Takaya Taguchi of Helical Fusion, Guenter Kraft of Focused Energy, Lucio Milanese of Proxima Fusion, Sam Guillaume of Renaissance Fusion, Peter Roos of Novatron Fusion Group, and Saskia Horsch of Marvel Fusion.
• Public-Private Partnerships Supporting Fusion Growth: Discussions examined how governments and private industry can work together to build a commercial fusion sector. The session featured Heather Lewtas and Valerie Jamieson of UKAEA, Robbie Scott of UPLiFT, Linda Werner of ST1, and Jennifer Arrigo of the U.S. Department of Energy. Jonathan Toretta of TAE Technologies and David Capper of UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero also discussed a case study focused on public-private partnerships in the UK.
• Policies and Market Models for Commercial Fusion: Leaders from government, industry, and investment explored the policies and market structures needed to unlock growth in the fusion sector. The discussion featured Adam Baker of DESNZ, Francesca Ferrazza of Eni, Kiyoshi Seko of Kyoto Fusioneering, Steve Lawler of Helixos, and Scott Hsu of Lowercarbon Capital.
• UK Collaboration and Industry Growth: A case study on UK Infinity brought together Chris Mowry of Type One Energy, Warrick Matthews of Tokamak Energy, Jennifer Obertino of AECOM, and Jennifer Jordan-Saifi of The Sustainable Markets Initiative to examine collaboration within the UK’s growing fusion ecosystem.
• Regulatory Reform: FIA’s Andrew Holland joined Greg Black of Environment Energy, James Stewart of the Health & Safety Executive, and Lise Stoyell of the UK Atomic Energy Authority for a discussion on the regulatory environment surrounding fusion and the reforms needed as the sector advances toward commercialization.
• Digital Delivery and AI for Fusion: Aston Smith of Dassault Systèmes and Cyd Cowley of DigiLab discussed the role of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in supporting fusion’s development and delivery.
• Regional Supply Clusters and Skills: Koichi Masuda of Liberty Fusion, Colin Baus of Kyoto Fusioneering, Giorgio Ricci Maccarini of Rh3ova, and Tom Reynolds of Gauss Fusion explored the importance of developing regional industrial clusters, supply chain capabilities, and skills to support a growing commercial fusion industry.
• STEP and Building UK Capability: Paul Methven of UK Fusion Energy Ltd, Christina King of Ridgway Machines, Catherine Wilkins of Ilios, and Tris Denton of Fusion Industry Association discussed STEP and its role in stimulating UK industrial capability.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, speakers, partners, and attendees for helping make the UK Fusion Forum a success. We are especially grateful to our sponsors: First Light Fusion, Rh3ova, Type One Energy, Amentum, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Tokamak Energy, TAE Technologies, Helion, Kyoto Fusioneering, Dassault Systèmes, Fujikura, De Pretto Industrie, 4C, Frazer-Nash Consultancy, Liberty Fusion, UK Industrial Fusion Solutions, DigiLab,UK Atomic Energy Authority, Kinectrics, Fusion CDT, C3 Communications, Cryogenic, Zeeko, Fusionality, and Germany Trade & Invest.

We are grateful to Marick Partners for their work with FIA in organizing and delivering the Forum.