Cantwell-Led Fusion Energy Commercialization Commission Releases Roadmap to Secure American Leadership in Fusion Energy

Cantwell: Expanding fusion can help “meet our growing electricity demand, lower emissions, & increase export opportunities”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy, which is co-chaired by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, and

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and Ylli Bajraktari, President, Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), released a preliminary report titled “Fusion Power: Enabling 21st Century American Dominance.”

“Fusion could provide vast amounts of the type of power we need to keep electricity prices down and increase America’s economic competitiveness,” said Sen. Cantwell. “This preliminary report provides a roadmap for how the United States could lead the world in fusion commercialization in order to meet our growing electricity demand, lower emissions, and increase export opportunities.”

Fusion, the same process that powers the sun, typically utilizes an inexhaustible supply of water as its fuel, and produces negligible atmospheric emissions and zero greenhouse gas emissions. Fusion reactors cannot melt down, and do not generate the high-level, long-lasting radioactive waste associated with nuclear fission reactors.

The Commission’s recommendations are organized into three categories:

Declare Fusion a National Security Priority: The United States should prioritize fusion energy development. A presidential executive order should articulate a National Fusion Goal and establish a national fusion strategy led by the Department of Energy (DOE), with a 90-day action plan to streamline regulations, organize public and private stakeholders, and align the necessary resources. This will ensure U.S. leadership in fusion energy, which is vital for national prosperity and security.

Establish Fusion Leadership and Drive Commercialization: A political appointee at the DOE should be appointed as the national "Fusion Lead" and be empowered to implement the Fusion Executive Order (EO). This senior leader should report to the Secretary and oversee existing DOE fusion commercialization programs, develop the 90-day action plan, and dismantle bureaucratic obstacles.

Strategic Investment to Win the Fusion Race: The United States will not be able to achieve fusion power unless it invests in the fundamental building blocks of commercial fusion: infrastructure, supply chain, and talent. To outpace China, the United States should make a one-time investment towards these strategic assets, de-risk multiple commercial fusion pathways, and sustain basic research to cultivate the next generation of fusion science.

The 13-member Commission on the Scaling of Fusion Energy, first announced in Fall 2023 at SCSP’s Global Emerging Technology Summit, aims to position the United States not only as the leader in fusion science but also in its scaling as the technology matures. The Commission will hold sessions throughout 2025, culminating in its final report later this year.

This effort represents a step towards ensuring U.S. leadership in a transformative technology, with implications for national security, economic prosperity, and energy independence. The Commission’s work will lay the foundation for a future where fusion energy could be the key pillar of global energy infrastructure.

Sen. Cantwell is a leading Senate champion for the development and deployment of fusion energy.

In July 2024, Sen. Cantwell hosted a Pacific Northwest Energy Summit, joining U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and regional energy stakeholders to discuss technological and policy solutions that will ensure NW ratepayers and our regional economy continue to benefit from abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy. More than 200 business, government, and non-profit energy professionals attended the event.

In May 2023, Sen. Cantwell applauded Everett-based Helion Energy’s announcement that they plan to be the first company in the world to generate and sell electricity from a fusion reactor.

Thanks to leading fusion companies like Helion, as well as Everett-based Zap and Seattle-based Avalanche, many consider the Puget Sound region to be the world's biggest fusion energy hub.

During a Senate hearing in April 2023, Sen. Cantwell pressed Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm about plans to expand federal support for fusion research.

At an Energy Committee hearing in September 2022, Sen. Cantwell asked fusion experts like Dr. Scott Hsu, Lead Fusion Coordinator for the Department of Energy, and Professor Steven Cowley, Director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, about what more we can be doing to boost fusion R&D and make sure we can manufacture fusion components domestically.