House Science, Space, and Technology Committee
Energy Subcommittee
Fusion Energy
The purpose of this hearing is to explore the current status of fusion energy research and development in the United States, with a focus on private sector innovation, Department of Energy (DOE) programs and facilities, and international research partnerships. This hearing will also provide an opportunity to review DOE’s progress in carrying out fusion energy program direction recently enacted in the CHIPS and Science Act and the Energy Act of 2020.
Witnesses:- Dr. Kathryn McCarthy, Director, U.S. ITER Project Office
- Dr. David Kirtley, CEO, Helion Energy
- Dr. Wayne Solomon, Vice President, Magnetic Fusion Energy, General Atomics
- Andrew Holland, CEO, Fusion Industry Association
- Dr. Scott Hsu, Senior Advisor and Lead Fusion Coordinator, U.S. Department of Energy
Department of Energy (DOE) supports fusion energy science research primarily through the Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program within its Office of Science. The mission of FES is “to expand the fundamental understanding of matter at very high temperatures and densities and to build the scientific foundation for fusion energy.” In addition, the FES mission includes the development of a competitive fusion power industry in the U.S. DOE stewards three main fusion facilities: the NIF at LLNL, the National Spherical Torus Experiment – Upgrade (NSTX-U) at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and DIII-D at General Atomics. DOE also partners with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), a leading international fusion construction project.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPAE), has supported fusion projects over the last few years through two programs: Breakthroughs Enabling Thermonuclear-fusion Energy (BETHE) and Galvanizing Advances in Market-Aligned Fusion for an Overabundance of Watts (GAMOW). BETHE seeks to provide funding to high maturity, but low-cost fusion options while GAMOW prioritizes projects of enabling technologies and advanced materials, which are necessary for commercial fusion systems.
Recently, Congress reauthorized FES in the Energy Act of 2020 and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Through the Energy Act of 2020, Congress authorized two public-private partnership programs, the Innovation Network for Fusion Energy (INFUSE) and the Milestone Based Development Fusion program. Launched in FY2019, the INFUSE program provides industry access to the national laboratories and universities who have expertise and world leading facilities in fusion energy sciences. This relationship will support the advancement of novel approaches to fusion through material sciences, modeling and simulation, advanced computing, and diagnostics. The DOE closed its INFUSE Request for Assistance (RFA) for FY2023 in March 2023. To date, the program has 72 awards totaling $14.7 million.
Similarly, the Fusion Milestone Development is a milestone program that will award companies that meet technical and commercialization targets, which will accelerate the development of a fusion power plant. The Department of Energy closed its up-to-$50 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in December of 2022. On May 31, the DOE announced that it will award $46 million to eight companies including: Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Focused Energy Inc., Princeton Stellarators Inc., Realta Fusion Inc., Tokamak Energy Inc., Type One Energy Group, Xcimer Energy Inc, and Zap Energy Inc.
Over the last few years, FES has seen a steady increase in funding. The President’s fiscal year (FY) 2024 Budget Request includes $1.01 billion for FES activities, a topline consistent with CHIPS and Science funding levels, and a 32.4% increase from FY 2023. The President’s FY 2024 Budget Request also includes funding for new FES activities such as dedicated fusion R&D centers focused on blanket/fuel cycle, advanced simulations, structural/plasma facing materials, as well as enabling technologies to support public-private fusion power plant efforts.