DOE Unveils a Roadmap for Scalable Nuclear Fusion
What do we need to develop fusion energy? The Department of Energy has released a blueprint outlining a path forward (POLITICO’s E&E News, subscription).
What’s going on: “DOE’s final fusion strategy, which involved the input of more than 800 scientists and engineers, outlines proposals to secure the infrastructure needed to commercialize the technology within the next decade and sets detailed timelines for the department to reach milestones.”
- Nuclear fusion, which generates electricity by emulating the process powering the sun, has yet to be “demonstrated at scale to produce electricity.” If the U.S. does not take the lead in developing this technology, however, its competitors might unlock it first.
- The plan—which was announced Tuesday and calls for industry, academia and the DOE’s national laboratories to collaborate to fill “technology gaps”—will be implemented by the new Office of Fusion.
What it does: The roadmap recommends fusion energy be developed by building critical infrastructure, innovating through research, computing and artificial intelligence and expanding the “fusion ecosystem.”
- “The agency said it would aim to build small-to-medium-scale facilities in the next three to five years to help companies better harness fusion reactions.”
Yes, but … The blueprint doesn’t commit the agency to specific funding amounts, and President Trump’s FY2027 budget includes about $50 million in fusion-related spending cuts.
- In 2025, however, Energy Secretary Chris Wright established a new fusion office and in April said on a podcast that “fusion on the grid could arrive within 10 years ‘if everything goes awesomely well.’”
Landmark moment: This week, Tennessee became the first state to roll out its own regulatory framework for nuclear fusion machines.
