Things You Gotta Know

Fusion Could Generate Up to 50% of Global Electricity by 2100, IAEA Projects
The IAEA’s World Fusion Outlook 2025 reports over 160 fusion devices are now operational, under construction, or planned worldwide, with fusion entering an “implementation phase” as it becomes a cornerstone of national energy strategies. MIT modeling projects fusion could generate 10-50% of global electricity by 2100 depending on capital costs ($2.8K-$11.3K per kW), potentially adding trillions of dollars to global GDP. The report highlights high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnets as a transformative technology that could enable more compact and efficient fusion machines, though significant engineering trade-offs remain. ITER remains the central international endeavor with 33 nations collaborating, while the IAEA’s World Fusion Energy Group established in 2024 is fostering global dialogue among governments, industry, regulators, and academia to accelerate commercialization.

AI Giants Pour Billions Into Fusion Energy to Power Next-Gen Data Centers
AI leaders including Sam Altman (OpenAI), Dustin Moskovitz, and Google are pouring billions into fusion energy companies like Helion, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, and TAE Technologies to power energy-hungry data centers and AGI development. Altman invested $9.5 million in Helion in 2015 and added $375 million in 2021, making it one of his largest personal bets in a multibillion-dollar portfolio. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s fusion-energy division director Troy Carter now believes a pilot fusion plant could be achieved by the mid-2030s, significantly earlier than the 2040s timeline projected in 2020. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved the first fusion reaction generating more energy than was used to heat the plasma in 2022, though no private company has yet hit this milestone.

Germany Commits €2 Billion to Build World’s First Commercial Fusion Plant by 2040
Germany’s cabinet approved over €2 billion (USD $2.3 billion) in fusion research investment by 2029 through its Fusion Action Plan, aimed at building the world’s first commercial fusion power plant by 2040. Three leading German fusion companies are driving the nation’s fusion ambitions following its 2023 nuclear plant closures: Proxima Fusion (which raised €130 million in 2025), Marvel Fusion (€385 million total funding), and Focused Energy ($200 million). The government plans to establish fusion-specific regulations separate from nuclear fission laws to provide planning security for startups and accelerate commercialization timelines. Germany aims to position itself as a European fusion leader, with industry advocates calling for three pilot plants to become operational by 2030 and the first commercial plant later that decade.

Helion Unveils Polaris Prototype as It Races Toward 2028 Microsoft Power Deal
Helion Energy provided a rare behind-the-scenes tour of Polaris, its seventh-generation 60-foot fusion prototype housed in a concrete-and-plastic vault in Everett, Washington, as the company races toward its ambitious 2028 commercial deployment target for Microsoft. The company recently broke ground on Orion, a commercial facility in Malaga, Washington, where Microsoft has agreed to purchase 50 megawatts of fusion power beginning in 2028. Helion raised $425 million in Series F funding in January 2025, bringing its valuation to $5.4 billion, with plans to bring specialized manufacturing of components like capacitors and magnetic coils in-house to accelerate timelines. Unlike most fusion approaches pursuing ignition, Helion is building generators that pulse about once per second using deuterium and helium-3 fuel, with Polaris successfully forming the largest Field Reversed Configuration plasmas the company has created to date.

California’s Fusion Industry Could Generate $125 Billion and 40,000 Jobs
A new roadmap by the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation projects California’s fusion industry could support 40,000+ jobs and inject $125 billion into the state economy, with San Diego positioning itself as a potential “Silicon Valley for fusion energy.” California hosts 16 core fusion companies, more than one-third of U.S. firms,including General Atomics (which operates the DIII-D National Fusion Facility) and TAE Technologies, plus world-leading research institutions like Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UC San Diego. The roadmap calls for California to formally define fusion as a clean energy source, provide CEQA relief for pilot programs, and offer investment incentives, with UC San Diego professor Mike Campbell warning that “what happens in the next three to five years will decide whether California owns the industry or watches it leave.” Global fusion investment has surpassed $9.7 billion with $2.6 billion raised in the past year alone, attracting investments from Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman.

Helical Fusion Announces High-Temperature Superconductor Breakthrough

Helical Fusion has successfully tested their high-temperature superconductor coils under production-level conditions, achieving stable 40kA current flow in a 7-tesla magnetic field at 15 Kelvin. This breakthrough validates their unique helical stellarator approach and kicks off construction of the Helix HARUKA integrated demonstration device. The Japanese fusion company, backed by $35M in funding, is advancing an alternative path to fusion energy that builds on decades of stellarator research at Japan’s NIFS facility.

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