DOE Secretary Prioritizes Fusion in Future Energy Innovation

Energy Department Secretary Chris Wright said his department is “getting energy right” by reducing certain program funding and reprioritizing energy infrastructure modernization to invest in fusion energy generation and align with President Donald Trump’s vision of American energy dominance, he said in a call with reporters Thursday. The private sector and artificial intelligence will play a larger role in the department’s reimagined modernization strategy.

Wright discussed a plan to invest in fusion science and technology to strengthen the energy grid and national security during a Special Competitive Studies Project event earlier this week. The department’s upcoming Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap — part of the agency’s 2024 fusion energy strategy — will capitalize on public-private partnerships and AI.

“We need the commercial efforts, but we [also] need the [national] labs,” said Wright. “We’re going to get the fusion ball moving, and we will see more progress in the next five or 10 years.”

The department’s fusion roadmap will closely align with efforts in industry to develop a commercially viable fusion pilot plant in the 2030s with the goal of commercial scaling it in the 2040s.

“We need to all work together to help push this ball [and] massively increase funding for fusion,” said Wright. “We need that support. We need that welcoming business environment for fusion companies and building fusion research facilities.”

Wright added that funding efforts must come from both private and public entities, emphasizing that government needs to have more buy-in to keep pace with adversaries like China.

While the Trump administration has focused on reducing federal spending, Wright highlighted the “critical nature” of investing in science and technology, especially through the department’s national labs.

“We have a big budget deficit … the government has finite resources. We need to spend less on some things and more on others,” said Wright.

Coupling the Power of AI with Fusion Energy

Fusion energy is produced when two light atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing massive amounts of energy in the process. Wright said AI will play a significant role in scaling fusion S&T because of its complex nature.

“AI will be a tremendous enabling technology for fusion,” said Wright. “And the development of fusion will be an enabling technology.”

The symbiotic relationship between AI and fusion is redefining what research and development will be possible within the national labs, such as Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s (LLNL) fusion ignition.

The lab’s National Ignition Facility has shown that its fusion experiments can generate more energy from the reaction than the amount of laser energy used to start it. Wright said this success has boosted confidence that investing in fusion, coupled with AI, is the next step toward future breakthroughs

“Right now we have three world changing technologies — AI, quantum and fusion — that are just emerging … fusion is the real deal,” said Wright. “If you want to transform our world, our economy and the quality of life of 7 billion people, fusion can play a major role in that.”