This Week’s Fusion News: February 13, 2026
Things You Gotta Know
Who Will Be First To Unlock Nuclear Fusion?
Forbes contributor Drew Bernstein surveys the intensifying U.S.-China fusion race, noting that America's 42 fusion companies are led by heavily funded startups including Commonwealth Fusion Systems (nearly $3 billion raised), Helion Energy ($1 billion), and TAE Technologies ($1.3 billion), while China has invested an estimated $6.5 billion to $13 billion in large-scale fusion research since 2023. China is building several major facilities, including the $2.8 billion BEST tokamak targeting completion in 2027 and a $570 million research campus in Hefei to support its demonstration reactor program. Bernstein argues that despite competitive framing, collaboration may be the faster path forward, noting that no prototype has yet achieved a Q factor of 1, and that China currently leads in three of six key industries required to scale fusion commercially. With President Trump's April trip to meet President Xi on the horizon, Bernstein suggests a joint fusion initiative could offer a constructive opening in an otherwise gridlocked relationship.
Helion Achieves New Industry-First Fusion Energy Milestones
Helion announced that its 7th-generation Polaris prototype has become the first privately funded fusion machine to operate with deuterium-tritium fuel and has reached plasma temperatures of 150 million degrees Celsius. Both achievements set new benchmarks for the commercial fusion sector. The 150 million degree mark surpasses the company's own previous record of 100 million degrees set by its Trenta prototype, with the company planning to continue increasing plasma temperatures to demonstrate reliable operation with deuterium-helium-3 fuel for commercial use.
ITER Deploys 'Godzilla' Robot to Help Assemble Fusion Reactor
ITER has deployed a massive industrial robot nicknamed "Godzilla," standing 4 meters tall with a 5-meter reach and capable of lifting 2.3 tons, to develop and test the tools needed for installing 20,000 components inside its tokamak vacuum vessel. The robot is being used as a platform to validate more than 30 specialized tools for handling, bolting, welding, inspecting and cutting, all part of a "Rolling Waves" assembly strategy where multiple teams work in parallel inside the vessel. ITER's updated timeline targets full magnetic energy by 2036 and deuterium-tritium operations by 2039. Meanwhile, a 39-ton blanket assembly transporter three times the size of Godzilla is currently in the detailed design phase before fabrication by India's Larsen & Toubro.
UCLA Samueli Part of University of California's $8 Million Fusion Energy Initiative
UCLA materials science professor Jaime Marian will lead the university's contribution to a new $8 million University of California initiative focused on accelerating fusion energy development. The UC Initiative for Fusion Energy awarded two three-year grants of $4 million each to research teams spanning five UC campuses and the UC-managed Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories. Marian's team will focus on designing advanced alloys that can withstand the intense neutron irradiation, mechanical stress and extreme temperatures inside fusion reactors. The broader initiative also targets next-generation diagnostic tools and self-sustaining fuel cycle development, building on California's position as home to roughly a quarter of the nation's fusion startups and approximately $2 billion in private fusion investment.
The National and Economic Security Implications of Fusion Energy
A New Player Enters the Fusion Market
Inertia Enterprises has launched as the newest commercial fusion player with a $450 million Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners. Co-founded by Twilio's former CEO Jeff Lawson, NIF physicist Dr. Annie Kritcher, and fusion plant designer Prof. Mike Dunne, the company aims to scale the National Ignition Facility's proven laser-based approach into gigawatt fusion power plants within the next decade using a thousand compact, mass-produced lasers firing at fuel targets ten times per second.
Data Centers – The Driving Force Behind Energy Investments
The global data center market reached $319.5 billion in 2024 and is on track to nearly triple to $988 billion by 2035, with electricity consumption projected to double by mid-decade. Natural gas currently leads as the near-term power source of choice, but nuclear fission, battery storage paired with solid-state transformers, and fusion energy are all competing for a role in the long-term supply picture. This analysis examines where each technology stands today, the tradeoffs operators face between speed-to-deploy and decarbonization, and why data center investors are already placing bets on fusion despite its longer timeline to commercial scale.
