The FIA applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing HR5376, the Build Back Better Act, because it will make transformative investments into fusion energy research, development, and deployment as a part of the legislation’s climate and energy provisions. The Build Back Better infrastructure package includes, among other sections, significant new investments into clean energy…
On Wednesday, November 17 Congress will hold a hearing on fusion energy research and development. Read more here for details of witnesses.
FIA joins letter to Congress in support of R&D funding for fusion energy
A key committee in Congress has passed legislation investing in fusion research, and creating a new public-private partnership program
On Wednesday, July 28, the Senate voted to move in a bipartisan way to debate passage of an infrastructure package. The Fusion Industry Association and its member companies have made a clear case to Congress that supporting fusion energy is not just an investment in the future. Investing in fusion will create new, good jobs…
Fusion Industry Association CEO Andrew Holland published the opinion piece, “US Must Make an Infrastructure Investment in Fusion Energy” in the Washington Examiner on July 13, 2021, pushing for the American government to increase its funding for fusion energy in order to combat the global climate crisis and assert the United States as a leader…
On July 12, 2021, the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee passed a bill that includes $45 million in Fiscal Year 2022 funding for a new milestone-based public-private partnership cost-share program for fusion energy as was authorized in the Energy Act of 2020. The bill includes $698 million…
On May 28, 2021, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson and Ranking Member Frank Lucas, along with the Science Subcommittee on Energy Chairman and Ranking Members, Jamaal Bowman and Randy Weber introduced the Department of Energy Science for the Future Act. This bill provides authorization of new funding and policy in…
On May 24, members of the bipartisan Congressional Fusion Energy Caucus wrote to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm seeking updates on the Department of Energy’s progress in implementing directives from Congress to support the development of key fusion energy programs. The letter, led by Fusion Energy Caucus chair Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), was signed by…
The Fusion Industry Association welcomes the announcement of the American Jobs Plan by President Biden. Fusion investment can lead the way.
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.