- The report argues that fusion policy should shift from a basic science orientation toward a strategic commercial mission focused on moving technology from laboratories to electricity markets.
- Private fusion firms are presented as central to achieving breakthroughs, while federal support is framed as necessary to validate progress, expand partnerships, and catalyze a domestic commercial ecosystem.
- The Department of Energy is urged to create a fusion office with budget authority and a mission to implement the administration’s commercial fusion vision.
- The report recommends regulatory clarity under a byproduct materials framework, warning that fission-style regulation or prolonged uncertainty could push commercial actors away from the United States.
- Public-private partnerships are described as a way to connect national laboratory expertise with private firms while protecting sensitive information, cybersecurity, and intellectual property.
The report presents fusion energy as a strategic commercial opportunity for the United States rather than only a science mission. It argues that private companies have accelerated fusion development and that government action is needed to convert technical progress into a domestic commercial ecosystem. The action plan assesses private-sector momentum, federal programs, regulatory choices, international competition, information-sharing needs, supply-chain weaknesses, and talent requirements. It recommends a national mission manager, a dedicated fusion office at the Department of Energy, milestone-based support, targeted public-private partnerships, clear regulation that separates fusion from fission, stronger protections against cyber and intellectual-property risks, supply-chain roadmapping, and broader education and outreach. The report states that competitors, including China, are organizing for commercialization and could scale rapidly even without leading the initial breakthrough. It also cites the United Kingdom as using policy, siting decisions, and regulation to attract activity. Its policy relevance rests on the claim that commercial fusion could support clean energy goals, reshape energy dependencies, strengthen U.S. manufacturing, and affect defense and space capabilities if the United States aligns federal tools with private-sector strengths.
The next decade will determine which countries become importers versus exporters of fusion.
SCSP
- Get Fusion On the Grid by 2030. Private sector progress has already compressed government fusion timelines by over a decade.
- Empower DOE with a Commercial Fusion Mission. A program office with budgetary authority and a commercial fusion mission will be necessary to move fusion from the theoretical to the practical.
- Leverage Actors’ Core Strengths. The U.S. Government can increase the impact of the Bold Decadal Vision by doubling down on what is already working.
- Add Government Fuel Where It Will Accelerate Commercialization. Government spending on fusion will be essential both for catalyzing a commercial fusion ecosystem and for supporting delivery.
Published by the Special Competitive Studies Project. Co-publishers and external authors, where they exist, are credited in the byline above.