FIA Holds 2025 Policy Conference
WASHIGNTON, DC – Image: building at Global Fusion Energy Industry, from the FIA ( Credit : FIA)
On February 25 – 26, the Fusion Industry Association hosted our fourth annual policy conference. The conference is a space for leaders in government, industry, science, and academia to come together and discuss concrete ways to accelerate the path to fusion commercialization.
This year’s conference brought together over 350 global fusion leaders in Washington, DC, for two full days of panels and networking events. The discussions covered a wide range of topics within the fusion policy landscape, from public-private partnerships, to harmonizing fusion regulatory frameworks, the expanding fusion supply chain, and accelerating investment in fusion. Thank you to all who joined us! Below is a summary.
February 25: Day One
The conference kicked off with opening remarks from Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, and Ryan Umstattd, FIA Chair of the Board and VP of Product & Partnerships at Zap Energy.
Next, a fireside chat focused on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, featuring Brian Berzin, CEO of Thea Energy, and Dr. Colleen Nehl, Program Manager for Public-Private Partnerships at the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences within the U.S. Department of Energy. The Milestone Program is a public-private partnership program that catalyzes key milestones on the way to company-led fusion pilot plants. Modeled after the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program that allowed the space propulsion industry to rapidly accelerate in recent years, this program follows the same cost-share model. When a company reaches each milestone, they receive commensurate funding. In this way, the taxpayers are protected and the investment risk is taken by the companies, not the government. The fireside chat highlighted the crucial role of such government initiatives and the importance of partnerships across sectors.
Following that was a discussion on deploying fusion in the UK, which covered the status of fusion commercialization in the country. The conversation highlighted how the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is facilitating regulations, public-private partnerships, and funding for key fusion programs. FIA UK Director Tristram Denton facilitated the discussion with two UKAEA leaders: Nick Sykes, Head of Operations for Remote Applications in Challenging Environments (RACE), and Charles Prince, Director for Strategy and Investment for the STEP Programme.
We were then pleased to welcome Arnold Lumsdaine, director of the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE), a U.S. Department of Energy public-private partnership awardee program that provides the fusion industry access to technical collaboration with national labs and universities.
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