U.S. Senate Hosts Hearing on Fusion Development and Commercialization

On September 19, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources held a full committee hearing to examine fusion energy technology development and commercialization efforts. Witnesses included Dr. Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director of the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) at the U.S. Department of Energy; Jackie Siebens, Director of Public Affairs at FIA member Helion Energy; and Dr. Patrick White, Research Director at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance. 

In his opening remarks, Chairman Manchin began the hearing by discussing the promise of fusion, saying “it would change the world.” He also noted the race against China, stating that “the US is still in the lead but you can see China entering the field in a big way.” Ranking Member Barrasso echoed his concerns on China’s increased spending and also posed a question on how the DOE could leverage their own spending to become “a better steward for taxpayer dollars.”

Witnesses then provided their testimonies, with Dr. Allain highlighting the progress being made in the past year by DOE to realign FES programs to meet the changing fusion landscape. He noted three key steps for the DOE to support fusion including closing technology gaps, leveraging public private partnerships, and building a robust manufacturing network. He later spoke on closing technology gaps in response to a question from Senator Cassidy on government investment. 

“The questions we’re asking right now in our public programs are exactly this – in a dialogue with the private sector – where are the common gaps… Let’s make sure we’re realigned towards those gaps and make sure we aggressively invest.”

Dr. Jean Paul Allain, Associate Director of the Office of Fusion Energy Science at the U.S. Department of Energy

Chairman Manchin asked the witnesses to speak on building on existing infrastructure and connecting to the grid. In response, Dr. White highlighted the importance of technology neutral policies in getting fusion on the grid quickly and efficiently. 

“I believe the importance of having technology neutral policies to really think about how we can get firm clean energy sources onto the grid. We hope to see many of these sources come online in the next decade so having a clear pathway for them to either work behind the meter or integrated onto the grid will be critical so that technologies like fusion can enter the grid when they’re commercially ready.” 

Dr. Patrick White, Research Director, Nuclear Innovation Alliance

Senator Heinrich spoke on US leadership saying “those efforts have largely been physics based… We’re now at a place where we’re shifting our focus to engineering and materials science.” He also highlighted the need for DOE to shift focus to support commercial development across the board.

Senator Cortez Masto expressed concerns that China could “weaponize” their control over supply chains. She highlighted the importance of US security, asking what steps the US can take to secure and incentivize the US supply chain. Ms. Siebens recommended activating existing programs, like the 45X manufacturing tax credit, to include fusion.

“One thing that would be transformational for us is to amend the 45X manufacturing tax to make sure that fusion is eligible… When we think about existing incentives that need to be activated for fusion, this is a really great example.”

Jackie Siebens, Director of Public Affairs, Helion Energy

In total, 10 members of the Committee spoke to provide questions for the witnesses on fusion technology, investment, and deployment. A recording of the hearing is available below to hear the full testimonies, questions, and responses.