U.S. Fusion Community Sends Letter to Congressional Leaders Supporting Fusion Funding

FIA Joins letter to Congressional Leaders from the fusion energy community, including private industry, leading research universities, investors, and scientific research.

On September 23, 2021, the U.S. fusion community sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Schumer, Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, and Chairman Joe Manchin asking for their support of $15.5 billion in research and development funding passed by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. This funding to the Department of Energy provides $2.8 billion in investments into fusion energy that will support the U.S. fusion community.

Importantly, this funding also includes initial funding of $325 million for a new Milestone-based Fusion Energy Development Program, which is a critical initial investment in a new public-private partnership program that would leverage private capital to accelerate the goal of commercializing fusion energy. The technical advancements of this program will further enable the design of pilot power plants.

The Fusion Industry Association and its members are working to commercialize fusion power, on a time period that matters. Fusion energy will be the industry of the future, but supporting fusion energy is not just an investment that will pay off in the long-term. Investing in fusion will create new, good jobs today as companies and scientists build the facilities that will prove the science of fusion. It will create the high-tech industrial base that spawns spinoffs and a new era of prosperity.

The CEO of the Fusion Industry Association is available for comment.