Things You Gotta Know

U.S. Leadership in Fusion Energy: A Strategic Imperative
Maintaining U.S. dominance in fusion energy is critical for national security, energy independence, and economic competitiveness. Key industry leaders call for increased federal investment and stronger public-private partnerships to ensure the U.S. remains at the forefront as global competition intensifies. With fusion poised to reshape the energy landscape, stakeholders warn that falling behind could mean ceding leadership to geopolitical rivals.

Fusion Energy: A Pillar for Europe’s Energy Security
European startups like Proxima Fusion are leveraging public and private investment to develop stellarator-based fusion reactors. With growing concern over energy dependence on foreign powers, fusion is positioned as a homegrown solution to secure long-term energy autonomy. The EU’s strategic commitment to fusion reflects its broader goal of decarbonization without sacrificing energy resilience.

FIA Unveils Fusion Spacecraft Propulsion Roadmap
The Fusion Industry Association has outlined a roadmap for using fusion propulsion in space, targeting missions to Mars and the asteroid belt by the 2030s. The roadmap highlights fusion’s potential to vastly outperform current propulsion systems in efficiency and range, with applications in planetary defense, deep space logistics, and long-term exploration infrastructure.

Avalanche Energy to Launch Fusion Test Facility in Richland
Avalanche Energy is building a fusion test facility in Richland, WA, to advance its compact FusionWERX reactors, aimed at powering satellites, drones, and off-grid systems. The company plans to scale from milliwatt devices to multi-megawatt systems, with a commercial pilot expected by 2027. A new partnership with Fusion Fuel Cycles further supports its strategy to close the fuel loop and accelerate deployment.

Video Game Algorithm Enhances Fusion Reactor Design
A team at UNIST in South Korea has repurposed a video game pathfinding algorithm to model high-energy particle collisions in fusion reactors. The tool speeds up detection of errant particles that could damage reactor walls, enabling real-time adjustments to reactor design. This innovation reduces computation time while improving simulation accuracy and safety in plasma confinement systems.

Updating the JEFF Nuclear Data Library for Fusion Applications
The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency is preparing JEFF-4.0, a major update to its nuclear data library used for both fission and fusion applications. The update incorporates new experimental results, advanced modeling, and uncertainty quantification, providing critical support for reactor design, diagnostics, and cross-section analysis in next-gen nuclear systems.

What Would Converting to Fusion Mean for the “Nuclear Navy”?

BY MICHAEL HEUMANN

The U.S. Navy operates more nuclear reactors than any utility, and may become one of fusion’s first strategic adopters. Aircraft carriers, with their massive power requirements and physical space, offer a promising testbed. This article explores what a fusion-powered fleet might look like, and the challenges and opportunities ahead.

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Fusion Energy – Can It Be Cheap Enough?

BY MICHAEL HEUMANN

Pacific Fusion’s inertial confinement Demonstration System (DS) aims for 100x the energy gain of NIF at a fraction of the cost. In this exclusive interview, President Will Regan shares how their pulsar-based approach could redefine commercial fusion viability and deliver net facility gain by 2030.

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