Editor-in-Chief, The Fusion Report
Two major fusion announcements in one day: Helical Fusion selects the NIFS campus in Japan for Phase 1 of its Helix HARUKA demonstration device, and Realta Fusion enters a bilateral strategic partnership with Kyoto Fusioneering to bring integrated fusion engineering capabilities to its magnetic mirror program. The Fusion Report covers both stories and sits down with Realta CEO Kieran Furlong to discuss what cross-border collaboration means for the path to commercial fusion.
Pacific Fusion co-founder and COO Carrie von Muench released a five-milestone framework for measuring the company’s path to commercial fusion energy. Two of the five milestones have already been achieved. The Fusion Report breaks down what each step means and where the industry stands.
Oil prices have surged past $102 a barrel as the U.S.-Iran war disrupts global energy markets. Part 2 of our series examines drone warfare economics, Russia’s oil windfall, China’s strategic reserves, and what the conflict means for the future of fusion energy investment.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems entered 2026 with a series of moves signaling operational acceleration. The company confirmed installation of the first of 18 superconducting magnets in SPARC, announced a digital twin collaboration with Siemens and NVIDIA, and debuted at CES to position fusion as near-term commercial technology. CFS also added Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel and former Microsoft/GM CFO Chris Liddell as independent board members, reinforcing governance as the company approaches first plasma.
The U.S. has cut Persian Gulf oil imports to under 10% of its total, but allies like Japan still source 95% of their crude from the region. With war in Iran threatening global oil markets, the case for accelerating alternatives grows stronger regardless of who actually burns the barrels.
Pacific Fusion CTO Keith LeChien walks us through the Impedance-Matched Marx Generator technology, the company’s milestone-based roadmap to net facility gain by 2030, and a major new announcement: a call for Expressions of Interest inviting external users to access what will be the highest-flux neutron source on the planet.
Is the U.S. power grid headed for a reliability crisis? With electricity demand surging from data centers, EVs, and industrial electrification — while coal plants retire at record pace — regional power shortfalls could hit as early as 2029. We break down what’s driving the strain and what it will take to keep the lights on.
The Moon’s regolith contains an estimated 1 million+ tons of helium-3, a fuel prized for its potential in aneutronic fusion reactors. But He-3 sits in parts-per-billion concentrations, requiring massive mobile extraction systems to heat lunar soil to 700–900 °C. Companies including Interlune, ispace, and Black Moon Energy are developing plans to scout, extract, and return He-3 to Earth, with timelines ranging from 2029 to 2040. The Fusion Report examines what early lunar mining operations would look like, who’s working on it, and the technical hurdles standing between the Moon and commercial fusion fuel.
The global fusion energy industry has attracted roughly $17 billion in private capital to date, with an estimated $10.7 billion raised outside of China and $6.5 billion within it. These are significant numbers, but they represent only a fraction of what will be needed to bring commercial fusion power plants online, where individual facilities could require billions in combined equity and debt financing. We examine the funding landscape, identify the major capital sources, and assess where the next wave of investment is likely to originate.
Helion Energy achieved two major milestones with their Polaris prototype: measurable deuterium-tritium fusion and a private-sector plasma temperature record of 150 million degrees Celsius. With their Orion production facility under construction in Malaga, Washington, Helion is closing in on delivering 50 MW of commercial fusion power to Microsoft.
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