Things You Gotta Know
Fusion Energy Poised for Simpler U.S. Federal Review
Fusion energy is on the cusp of a substantially lighter U.S. regulatory regime than fission. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is closing its public comment period on the proposed fusion rule on May 27, with a final regulation expected as soon as this fall. Industry leaders see fusion sitting outside NRC jurisdiction entirely, with state regulators following NRC rules. Per FIA CEO Andrew Holland, fusion companies will not have to go through the NRC at all.
Germany Backs EU’s New Fusion IPCEI
On May 20, Germany said it will join a new Important Project of Common European Interest on innovative nuclear technologies, with Berlin’s participation scoped to fusion only (not fission). Germany cited fusion as a strategic priority alongside its EU partners and has already pledged more than €2 billion through 2029 under its Hightech Agenda and Fusion Action Plan. The IPCEI is targeted to launch in 2027 pending Commission approval.
Singapore A*STAR Signs Five-Year Research Pact With Commonwealth Fusion Systems
At Ecosperity Week 2026 on May 20, Singapore’s A*STAR signed a five-year research collaboration with CFS focused on advanced materials and precision manufacturing for commercial fusion power plants, including ARC. The deal builds on earlier work between A*STAR, CFS, and ST Engineering on components already being used in SPARC, positioning Singapore as an early participant in the global fusion energy supply chain.
Canada Funds Fusion-Based Copper-67 Production Project
The Canadian Medical Isotope Ecosystem announced on May 20 that it is backing a collaboration between Promation, Astral Systems, and McMaster University to produce copper-67 using a fusion-based approach, with automated postirradiation isotope separation. Astral’s multistate fusion device runs reactions both in plasma and in a solid-state lattice, generating the high-energy DD and DT neutrons used to irradiate the target material. Cu-67 is a beta and gamma emitter increasingly used in cancer imaging and therapy.
General Fusion Appoints Thomas Boehlert to Its Board of Directors
General Fusion announced on May 21 that capital markets veteran Thomas Boehlert has joined its Board of Directors. The Vancouver-based magnetized target fusion developer framed the addition as further strengthening board leadership as the company advances toward the public markets, alongside its previously announced business combination with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp.
JT-60SA Upgrades Complete; World’s Largest Superconducting Tokamak Ready for Restart
The Europe-Japan JT-60SA project said on May 15 that integrated commissioning has begun on the world’s largest operational superconducting tokamak after a multi-year upgrade cycle. New hardware includes a tungsten-armored first wall and divertor, in-vessel plasma control coils, eight neutral beam tanks, edge Thomson scattering, and an X-ray imaging crystal spectrometer. The OP2 plasma campaign is targeted to start at the end of 2026 and run roughly six months.
On-Demand Webinar] Fusion 2035: The Shot Clock To Put Electricity on the Grid
The Fusion Report convened a half-day webcast to pressure-test what fusion’s run at the mid-2030s commercial window actually requires. Six companies, one moderator, and a milestone-by-milestone read on the next nine years.
Will Next-Generation AI Robots Be Powered by Fusion Energy?
Fusion and AI-powered robots have crossed paths in fiction since 1927’s Metropolis, with Iron Man’s Arc Reactor and the Terminator’s atomic batteries pushing the idea into popular culture. The Fusion Report looks at what it would actually take to drop a fusion device inside a robot. Avalanche Energy’s Orbitron, CFS SPARC, and Helion’s 19-meter machine all clear the power output bar. The size bar is a different story. Fusion can power the grid that powers the robots. A Terminator with a fusion machine in its chest is a longer wait.
Where Is Battery Energy Storage System Technology Going?
US grid-scale BESS capacity is now 45 GW, and California alone added 16.9 GW since 2018. Lithium-ion still leads, riding the EV cost curve, but sodium-ion, vanadium redox flow, and iron-air batteries each have a distinct play in stationary storage. Each technology fits a different point on the duration, safety, and cost curves.
