Congress Increases U.S. Funding for Fusion Energy Sciences Research
The U.S. government will increase funding for fusion energy research to $790 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.
The U.S. government will increase funding for fusion energy research to $790 million for the Department of Energy’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences.
On January 11, the Fusion Industry Association sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Granholm to express support for increasing funding and prioritizing commercialization of fusion energy in the 2025 budget request that will soon be delivered to Congress.
Magnetic confinement: Plasma is heated to 100 million °C or more, then squeezed and held in place by strong magnetic fields, allowing many fusion reactions to occur. (Example: tokamaks, stellarators)
Inertial confinement: Tiny fuel pellets are struck by powerful lasers. The outer layer explodes outward, compressing the core to fusion conditions for a few nanoseconds, producing a brief but intense pulse of energy from each pellet. (Example: National Ignition Facility)
Hybrid systems: Combine compression (e.g., from lasers, plasma pistons, or mechanical impact) with moderate magnetic fields to reduce energy losses and improve confinement.
Electrostatic fusion: Uses high electric potentials to accelerate ions toward a central reaction zone, causing them to collide at high energies and fuse. The ions are guided and confined by electric fields rather than magnets, creating a compact environment for fusion reactions.