OUTLOOK | 26 August 2026
Whether the billions of dollars of investment will lead to an inexhaustible source of clean electrical power is not yet known.
By Neil Savage
Engineers assemble toroidal field magnets at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a fusion-power company in Massachusetts. Credit: Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg via Getty
Engineers assemble toroidal field magnets at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a fusion-power company in Massachusetts. Credit: Cassandra Klos/Bloomberg via Getty
After decades of slow progress in government and academic laboratories, nuclear fusion is riding a wave of strong commercial interest. According to the Fusion Industry Association, a non-profit organization in Washington DC, 46 companies around the world are hotly pursuing fusion for electricity generation. Other firms are working on fusion for more-specialized applications, such as making medical isotopes, performing materials research and creating propulsion systems for naval ships and spacecraft.
As of 1 August, the electricity generation companies have raised a combined US$14.6 billion to support their efforts to make fusion a commercially viable reality. Much of that funding comes from venture-capital firms, but private investors, utility companies, government grants and technology companies building power-hungry data centres are also backing the start-ups.
Many of the fusion companies have spun off from research institutions; many of those that haven’t license intellectual property from or collaborate with those institutions. Most of the companies hope to demonstrate fusion, or even put electricity into the grid, by the early to mid-2030s, although academic scientists describe those plans as overly optimistic.
