A bipartisan letter signed by 72 Members of Congress, requesting increased funding into the commercialization of fusion energy, was sent to the House Appropriations Committee on October 31.
On October 13, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced the first round of federal funding to fusion firms, following Japan’s launch of a national strategy geared towards fusion acceleration earlier in the year.
On September 27, the German parliament held a public hearing on “Strengthening fusion research at a world-class level” in Berlin, with participation by Germany-based FIA members Focused Energy and Proxima Fusion. The hearing signifies another step in accelerating fusion commercialization in Germany.
On June 30, Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, sent a letter to Secretary Gina Raimondo, US Department of Commerce, on the importance of power semiconductors being included in the CHIPS for America Fund, based on the need for the growing fusion industry.
On June 13, alongside representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy, Helion Energy, US ITER Project Office, and General Atomics, FIA CEO Andrew Holland testified at a Congressional hearing on “From Theory to Reality: The Limitless Potential of Fusion Energy“, hosted by the Energy Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. A main theme from the hearing: the general consensus to increase support for accelerated fusion commercialization, a feat that will unlock “limitless potential” for energy, climate, and economic benefits.
In a notice released on May 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided further technical guidance on the application process for the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (Section 48C of the Internal Revenue Code). The first round of the expanded 48C tax credit program will strengthen the supply chains for fusion-related technologies to address remaining challenges for fusion commercialization, such as the manufacturing of superconducting magnets, plasma-facing components, and diagnostics.
On May 31, 2023, the United States Department of Energy announced the first round of awardees of the milestone-based public private partnership program. Congratulations to the awardees, all FIA members: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Focused Energy, Princeton Stellarators, Realta Fusion, Tokamak Energy, Type One Energy Group, Xcimer Energy, and Zap Energy.
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) published a memorandum on inertial fusion energy (IFE) in May 2023. An expert panel of scientists analyzed the status of fusion energy, its position in Germany, and its unparalleled potential in the global clean energy transition. In their report, they give high level recommendations, listed below, to ensure Germany’s position as a global leader in fusion development.
The US Department of Energy will announce the first round of awardees of the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program on Wednesday, May 31 at 2pm ET via live-stream (embedded video below).
In a webinar on Thursday, April 20, before May’s FusionXInvest event in London, Andrew Holland, FIA CEO; Randall Volberg, Founder and VP Business Development at Type One Energy; Mark White, Investment Director at Future Planet Capital; and Dr. Melanie Windridge, CEO of Fusion Energy Insights; had a discussion on fusion energy’s readiness for mainstream institutional…
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.