We’re still at least a handful of years from a working commercial fusion plant, but across the country and world, we’re getting closer every day. Fusion firms found success in fundraising, partnerships, and technological development this year in their quest to unlock the limitless power of the sun.
Here’s our roundup of the highlights.
Raising rounds: 2024 was a major year for fusion funding. In July, the FIA’s industry report showed that the fusion sector had raised more than $900M over the preceding year…and then Pacific Fusion went and doubled that number by emerging from stealth in October with a $900M funding round to pursue its pulsed magnetic approach to fusion.
Besides that, notable rounds included:
- Tokamak Energy’s $125M round in November
- Xcimer’s $100M Series A in June
- Marvel Fusion’s €62.8M ($70.3M) Series B in September
- Fuse Energy Technologies’ $32M round in September
Civil service: The US government isn’t the world leader in funding fusion projects, but it has launched a handful of programs to support fusion development. This year, that included Fusion Energy Strategy 2024, which allocated $180M to fund work supporting an eventual fusion plant.
Outside the US, the race for fusion is rolling along, as a handful of foreign governments announced new projects and batches of funding:
- South Korea allocated $866M to fund fusion development on top of investments the nation has already made in the KSTAR and ITER experimental fusion projects.
- China invests tons into fusion research projects—-approximately $1.5B per year.
Policy projects: The US is prepping for fusion’s commercial potential, and that’s going to mean separate rules from those that govern fission plants. Along with the ADVANCE Act, this year Congress passed the Fusion Energy Act, which will keep the licensing process for the two technologies separate and consider fusion plants more akin to particle accelerators than fission reactors.
+ ICYMI: Read our roundup of the main events in the fission sector in 2024 here.
Lead Reporter of Ignition
