U.S. DOE invests another $46M to speed commercial fusion energy development

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $46 million in funding to Commonwealth Fusion Systems (Cambridge, MA), Focused Energy Inc. (Austin, TX), Princeton Stellarators Inc. (Branchburg, NJ), Realta Fusion Inc. (Madison, WI), Tokamak Energy Inc. (Bruceton Mills, WV), Type One Energy Group (Madison, WI), Xcimer Energy Inc. (Redwood City, CA), and Zap Energy Inc. (Everett, WA) to accelerate efforts in building a fusion pilot plant (see video).

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to partnering with innovative researchers and companies across the country to take fusion energy past the lab and toward the grid,” says U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

In December 2022, Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s National Ignition Facility achieved fusion ignition for the first time, which demonstrated fusion’s potential as a future clean energy source. Now, the race is on to get there in time to help significantly reduce our global carbon emissions.