U.S. Department of Energy Announces $134 Million for INFUSE Awards and FIRE Collaboratives
On September 10, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $134 million in funding for the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) awards and Fusion Innovation Research Engine (FIRE) collaboratives, accelerating the path towards commercial fusion energy by bridging American industry, national labs, and universities.
Under the INFUSE program, which provides a 80% cost-share for companies to work directly with national labs or government-funded universities, the DOE awarded 20 companies $6.1 million in funding for research spanning various challenges in fusion energy. Of the 20 total awards, 19 of them went to FIA members and affiliate members: Blue Laser Fusion, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Ex-Fusion, Focused Energy, Helicity Space, Helion, Kyoto Fusioneering, Marvel Fusion, Molten Salt Solutions, Pacific Fusion, Realta Fusion, TAE Technologies, Thea Energy, Tokomak Energy, Type One Energy, Westinghouse, and Xcimer Energy.
A full list of INFUSE awardees can be found here.
DOE also announced $128 million in support for seven collaborative teams under the FIRE program. This round’s funding recipients will pursue research across the material sciences, fusion data ecosystem, and solution-oriented workflows. These teams, many of which include FIA members as partners, have the goal of connecting the DOE Fusion Energy Science program’s basic sciences research more closely with the needs of the growing U.S. fusion industry.
A full list of the FIRE Collaborative awardees can be found here.
“Fusion power holds the promise of limitless, reliable, American-made energy—and programs like INFUSE and FIRE ensure our innovators have the tools, talent, and partnerships to make it a reality”
Hon. Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy
Within the DOE Office of Science, the INFUSE and FIRE programs were established in 2019 and 2023, respectively, to accelerate private fusion development by fostering collaboration between business, national laboratories, and universities.
The INFUSE program awards private companies between $100,000 and $500,000 each to spend with national labs and universities. The FIRE Collaboratives program awards funding to virtual, centrally managed collaboratives, consisting of fusion professionals in the private and public sector, studying cross-cutting issues related to the delivery of commercial fusion energy.
The Fusion Industry Association supports both programs and their ability to strengthen public-private partnerships in the fusion industry, and advocates for their growth to match the need to scale and commercialize fusion energy.
September 11, 2025
