Fusion’s Ignition Milestone Sparks Global Race — But Big Hurdles Remain
Fusion energy's breakthrough moment has arrived, but turning scientific success into commercial power faces huge technical, economic, and political hurdles
In December 2022, scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved a historic feat: fusion ignition, when a fusion reaction produced more energy than it consumed. This breakthrough electrified the global energy community. Yet turning this scientific triumph into commercial fusion power remains an immense challenge.
Across the world, nations are moving aggressively. China has launched major fusion development programs. The United States, through the Department of Energy’s milestone program, is investing heavily in public-private partnerships. The United Kingdom is pushing ahead with its Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production (STEP) initiative. Japan and Europe are also developing their own national approaches.
However, the path ahead is complex. Scientists and entrepreneurs must overcome massive technological, economic, and political hurdles before fusion can reliably power homes and industries. At Fusion Fest 2025, organised by The Economist in London, a panel of top executives and scientists gathered to explore what it will take to commercialise fusion and how the world can avoid turning this triumph into another forgotten technology.
Global Supply Chain Needed
Fusion will not succeed solely on physics; it must also win on cost and scale. Chris Martin, chairman of Tokamak Energy, a UK company developing compact spherical tokamaks and high-temperature superconducting magnets, emphasised the urgency of creating a deep and efficient supply chain.
"We need to develop this large network of suppliers and run down the learning curve, because at the end of the day, it's going to be an economic mission," said Martin. "We need to deliver cheap baseload, renewable energy, heat power, to decarbonise an industry, a world which is becoming much more energy intensive every year."
He noted that no single model fits all and described differences between American, European, and Japanese fusion collaboration strategies.
"It's really a question of the philosophy and the culture of organisations, the culture to collaborate, the culture to publish, to be transparent, to share data," he added. "We will only get there quickly and efficiently at a low cost by running down this enormous amount of learning across the supply chain."
Unlike biotech or software, the fusion world lacks a dominant geographic cluster. Yet regional hubs are emerging. Kimberly Budil, director of LLNL—the US federally funded research centre that achieved the world’s first fusion ignition—noted the importance of proximity.
"We're seeing a lot of activity in the California region because of our centrality to the inertial fusion energy industry," said Budil. "The partnership between Commonwealth Fusion Systems and MIT is another example of how it grew from a rich science and technology ecosystem."
Francesco Sciortino, CEO of Proxima Fusion — a European startup spun out of the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics to build next-generation stellarator power plants — said Colorado is gaining momentum.
"We are seeing a lot of momentum around that region as a hub for inertial fusion," said Sciortino. "We have Marvel Fusion collaborating with Colorado State University, and it’s a great area for talent and resources."
From Labs to Markets
Achieving ignition in a lab is a scientific victory. Still, Chris Mowry, CEO of Type One Energy — a mission-driven company developing stellarators and building the Infinity One facility in Tennessee — argued that the next critical ignition must happen in the market.
"Perhaps we also need to start thinking about another type of ignition," said Mowry. "Ignition from a market adoption perspective."
Fusion companies, he stressed, must connect with today's energy infrastructure rather than reinvent it.
"Do we really need to reinvent how to build a power plant? I don't think so," he said. "There are lots of good energy companies out there that do that for a living today."
He warned that isolated one-off fusion plants would not change the energy system.
"If we just build 31 one-off plants, we're not going to move the needle on climate change, energy security, energy resilience, any of those things," he said.
The stakes are global, and Mowry emphasised the need for an international mindset.
"The best way to ensure that your company is fragile is to be located in one place or country," he said. "We need to think globally, act globally."
Sciortino echoed that view but highlighted growing geopolitical tension.
"There is more and more geopolitics, not on a national basis, but more on geopolitical blocks," said Sciortino. "Europe and the US are developing their own fusion champions."
Funding Fusion’s Future
The second half of the panel discussion was dominated by funding. A member of the audience asked how much capital the fusion industry will need over the next decade.
Chris Mowry replied that realism must guide ambitions.
"The running total for the amount of private capital invested in fusion is something like $7.7 billion," said Mowry. "It’s possible but unlikely that multiples of that amount will appear in the next 10 years."
He stressed that the industry must build power plants within a constrained financial environment.
"We need to get these first-generation plants built with the recognition that there's limited funding," he said.
Martin suggested that fusion funding should be framed in terms of global priorities.
"If you look at the cost of two fighter jet programs, that's probably enough," he said. "Or if you look at the cost of five new offshore oil fields, that's probably enough."
He estimated the requirement between $25 billion and $50 billion and urged better public communication.
"We have delivered a vast amount of very valuable life-improving technologies into the world without communicating that," he said. "It behoves us to really step up to the plate and communicate that this is about choices — about our children, our grandchildren."
Budil offered a slightly lower estimate.
"If you want the programs to close those gaps, to match the pace of the commercial industry, you need an infusion of about $10 billion," she said.
Alexander Valys, president of Xcimer Energy — a Denver-based company focused on making laser-driven inertial fusion commercially viable — expressed optimism about long-term funding.
"Once investors see fusion as having a defined, confident path to market, the capital will be there," said Valys.
Sciortino outlined a rough roadmap for costs.
"I would expect there are a couple of fusion champions, a couple European, a couple Asian," he said. "Projects that go and build the first-of-a-kind fusion power plants in the 2030s will cost $3 billion and upwards."
He agreed that the total needed for critical mass would be close to $50 billion.
Fusion’s Global Opportunity
The panellists agreed: ignition was historic, but the real challenge begins now. Brandon Sorbom, co-founder and chief science officer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems — the world's leading private fusion company and builder of the SPARC project — recalled a story of international collaboration during the Cold War.
"There’s a great example in fusion itself from the 1960s," said Sorbom. "A UK team went to Russia to verify the results of the first tokamak, travelling with boxes of lasers at the height of the Cold War."
Such optimism remains vital today. Sorbom predicted that multiple approaches could reach ignition before the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project.
ITER, currently under construction in southern France, is the world’s largest experimental fusion facility. Designed as a multinational collaboration between Europe, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States, it aims to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power by replicating the fusion process that powers the Sun.
Mowry estimated that two or three devices might successfully put fusion-generated electrons onto the grid ahead of ITER.
Sciortino emphasised that today’s breakthroughs build on past investments.
"We should think about ITER as a project that developed a supply chain," said Sciortino. "We can go fast today because ITER sponsored that supply chain."
The panellists agreed that fusion will not replace existing energy sources but add to them. Global partnerships, new industrial ecosystems, clear public communication, and smart, phased investments will be required.
If fusion is to power the world, the actual ignition will need to happen not just in reactors, but across industries, governments, and markets, pulling humanity toward a cleaner, more abundant energy future.