The state of Wisconsin commits up to $55 million to secure selection of former Oscar Mayer plant
The Fusion Report has covered the expansion of the commercial fusion energy industry numerous times over the past 12 months as it opens up new locations and new facilities. These expansions represent significant investments in the areas that they are being built in, whether in Denver, Mexico, New Jersey or other locations. Realta Fusion, who is building their next generation magnetic mirror project called HAMMiR, has chosen to build their new headquarters and Research and Development Facility in their hometown of Madison, Wisconsin. As a spin-out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s (UW-M) Wisconsin HTS Axis Symmetric Mirror (WHAM), the choice makes perfect sense. Below is the press release describing their plans for their new facility.
Realta Fusion Selects Wisconsin For Fusion Energy R&D Facility
Wisconsin Commits Up to $55 Million to Secure Realta’s Selection of Former Oscar Mayer Plant in Madison as Location for “The Realta Forge”
Madison, Wis. – July 15th, 2026 – Realta Fusion, the world’s leading magnetic mirror fusion energy company, today announced a commitment from the state of Wisconsin and the city of Madison for up to $55 million to develop its corporate headquarters and fusion research facility at OM Station, the site of the iconic former Oscar Mayer plant. Realta expects to create over 600 jobs at this facility, including both technical and non-technical roles.
Wisconsin’s financial incentive package combines an estimated $37.5 million in state sales and use tax exemptions, up to $15 million in performance-based enterprise zone (EZ) tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), and $2.8 million in tax increment financing (TIF) for job creation at OM Station from the City of Madison.
“We spent the better part of the past two years searching across the country to find the most favorable business environment and the most attractive site to build our R&D facility, and we found it in our own backyard,” said Realta CEO Kieran Furlong. “The state of Wisconsin and the city of Madison have made it clear they understand the promise of fusion energy and share our vision for the future, and now they’ve thrown their lot in together to make that vision a reality.”
Realta expects to break ground on “The Realta Forge”, its dedicated R&D facility where it will begin building the prototype magnetic mirror fusion machine it calls Hammir, before the end of the year.
“In terms of cash today, avoided costs tomorrow, and accelerating progress, this is the most impactful state-supported fusion deal ever done in the United States,” said Realta VP of Technical Development Dominick Bindl, who led the company’s site selection effort. “Wisconsin has taken unprecedented steps toward becoming the most credible regional hub for fusion activity in the country.”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and WEDC secretary and CEO John W. Miller were instrumental in ensuring a strong foundation for commercial fusion activities in the state. In April, Governor Evers signed into law Wisconsin Act 165, the first standalone piece of state legislation in American history to exempt capital expenditures on fusion energy projects from state sales tax. Miller extended a performance-based offer to Realta for EZ tax credits in the largest such commitment to a startup in Wisconsin’s history.
“Fusion energy is not only good for our planet and our power grid, but it plays to all of our strengths as a state with our world-class research universities, research laboratories, and an incredible manufacturing and supply chain network supported by our dedicated and highly skilled workforce,” said Gov. Evers. “Thanks in large part due to our efforts, we are getting closer every day to making fusion power part of our energy infrastructure and a commercially viable source of energy, and this new partnership will only strengthen that work. We are thrilled to help Realta grow its science and engineering expertise, build up its technology, and bring the economic benefits of fusion home to Wisconsin.”
“Fusion energy is an emerging global industry where Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Region are uniquely positioned to lead,” said WEDC Secretary and CEO John W. Miller. “WEDC welcomes Realta’s decision to stay in Wisconsin and continue its game-changing work where it all began.”
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and District 12 Alder Julia Matthews championed the jobs TIF at the city level, the final element of the package which unlocked Realta’s decision to choose OM Station for The Realta Forge. This is the first time in 10 years that Madison has issued TIF to a private company for job creation.
“Madison does not take the decision to provide tax increment financing lightly, but this was the right kind of project for the city to support,” said Mayor Rhodes-Conway. “This is an opportunity to bring hundreds of high-paying jobs in the sustainable energy sector to our community and revitalize a largely vacant property that means so much to Madisonians.”
Before selecting Wisconsin, Realta considered comparable sites in Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, and beyond.
2025 Wisconsin Act 165 codified language authored by Representative Benjamin Franklin and Senator Dan Feyen in 2025 Assembly Bill 657 and 2025 Senate Bill 636 respectively.
Conclusion: Why Realta Selecting Madison, Wisconsin is Important
Much in the same way as selecting Princeton, New Jersey for Thea Energy’s new facility, Madison WI makes perfect sense for Realta Fusion’s new facility. Their design is now a growth of the UW-M’s WHAM facility, which revitalized the idea of dual fusion mirrors. To date, Realta has raised $54M in total venture capital funding, with the last raise of $9.5M occurring in February of this year. I suspect we will also see in the near term a funding announcement for Realta as well; after all, that building a new facility is not cheap. My (uneducated) guess is that we’ll see our summary of something in the order of $100M by the end of the year, which would put the company roughly $150M in total lifetime funding, a good amount to push to the next technical milestone, with the eventual goal of success building a prototype fusion energy power plant. As of all fundraising for Fusion Energy, keep your fingers crossed for positive results.
