Physics:Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program

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The Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program is an ongoing program under the United States Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences to support the development of a fusion pilot plant (FPP) and commercialization of fusion power.[1][2][3] As of 2024, eight private companies have received commitments for a total of $46 million for the first 18-month period of performance. The program is planned to run for five years and culminate in one or more preliminary engineering designs for a fusion pilot plant.

History

The need for a fusion pilot plant has been recognized throughout the program to develop fusion power. Most recently before the announcement of the Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, in 2021 the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released a report which highlighted the need for such a program and advised its creation.[4] In 2022 the Biden Administration and DOE announced a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy, which included plans for a pilot-plant development program.[5][6][7]

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was announced by the US Department of Energy in September 2022, and $50 million was allocated for the first 18 months of the program.[8][9] Applications were received in December 2022.[3][10] Eight companies were selected for award negotiations in May 2023. However, agreements were not signed with the awardees until more than a year later in June 2024,[11] reportedly due to concerns over how intellectual property would be handled.[12]

In June 2024, at a White House Summit, the Department of Energy announced that all eight companies had successfully concluded detailed milestones negotiations with the federal government and that agreements had been signed to commence the Milestone Program.[13]

Awardees

The eight awardees are:

  • Commonwealth Fusion Systems (Cambridge, MA)
  • Focused Energy, Inc. (Austin, TX)
  • Thea Energy, Inc. (formerly Princeton Stellarators, Inc., Branchburg, NJ)
  • Realta Fusion, Inc. (Madison, WI)
  • Tokamak Energy, Inc. (US subsidiary of UK-based company, Bruceton Mills, WV)
  • Type One Energy Group (Madison, WI)
  • Xcimer Energy, Inc. (Redwood City, CA)
  • Zap Energy, Inc. (Everett, WA)

Awardees' approachs vary, including the tokamak (2 firms), the stellarator (2 firms), inertial confinement (2 firms), the magnetic mirror (1 firm), and the z-pinch (1 firm).

Structure

The program is structured as a public–private partnership between the DOE and the awardees. The companies receive federal payments upon completing quantitative milestones, up to the full award amount.[10]

The program is structured in three periods of performance: One spanning the first 18 months, one spanning the second 18 months, and one spanning the remaining 24 months of the five-year term. The first period of performance will presumably end around the end of 2025, assuming a start date based on the June 2024 announcement.

Only the first period of performance has been announced and awarded. The $46 million number is for the first period of performance. Subsequent periods of performance have not as of 2024 been announced or awarded.

The applicants were encouraged to propose collaborations with US national laboratories, with which the awardees would contract separately and pay directly. For example, Oak Ridge National Laboratory will work with six of the eight companies.[14]

Milestones

As of January 2025, the DOE has announced that at least 3 companies have completed at least 5 scientific and technical milestones.[15] While the specific milestones are typically protected information of the company, the following were announced. There may be more milestones that have been completed:

  • Computational modeling for a high-gain target design for laser-driven inertial fusion energy (Focused Energy)[15]
  • Demonstration of ion-beam focusing to support fast-ignition approach to inertial fusion energy (Focused Energy)[15]
  • Whole-device modeling of simple mirror equilibria to enable scientific energy gains of at least 5 for the tandem-mirror approach to fusion energy (Realta Fusion)[15]
  • Down selection to a family of optimized stellarator equilibria taking into account multiple factors of plasma confinement, stability, and stellarator components and subsystems (Thea Energy)[15]
  • Engineering design, prototyping, and operation of a single, high-temperature-superconducting magnet coil that is the building block of Thea Energy's approach to generating 3-dimensional, optimized stellarator fields using only planar coils (Thea Energy)[15]

Dispute over intellectual property

The year-long gap between the announcement of awardees and their signing agreements with the DOE was apparently due to a dispute over how companies' intellectual property would be treated under the award.[12] Reporting stated that the companies' rights to existing and subject intellectual property was inadequately safeguarded under the DOE's initial proposed terms. At the time of the announcement, the total private investment in Commonwealth Fusion Systems was over $2 billion.

Awardee table

Company name Location Approach Amount awarded in first period of performance Project name[14]
Commonwealth Fusion Systems Cambridge MA Tokamak $15 million[16] Commercial fusion power on a decadal timescale with the compact, high-field ARC power plant
Focused energy, Inc. Austin TX Inertial confinement fusion Company has not announced ?
Thea Energy, Inc. (formerly Princeton Stellarators, Inc.) Branchburg NJ Stellarator Company has not announced Stellarator fusion pilot plant enabled by array of planar shaping coils
Realta Fusion, Inc. Madison WI Magnetic mirror Company has not announced The high-field axisymmetric mirror on a faster path to fusion energy
Tokamak Energy (US subsidiary of UK company) Bruceton Mills WV Spherical tokamak Company has not announced ST-E1 preliminary design review for a fusion pilot plant
Type One Energy Group Madison WI Stellarator Company has not announced The high-field stellarator path to commercial fusion energy
Xcimer Energy Inc. Redwood City, CA Inertial confinement fusion $9 million[17] IFE pilot plant with a low-cost, high-energy excimer driver and the HYLIFE concept
Zap Energy, Inc. Everett, WA Z-pinch $5 million[18] Development of a fusion pilot plant design based on a sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch

See also

References

  1. ↑ "DOE Announces $46 Million for Commercial Fusion Energy Development" (in en). https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-46-million-commercial-fusion-energy-development. 
  2. ↑ "U.S. fusion pilot program ready to back designs from industry-led teams" (in en). https://www.ans.org/news/article-4355/us-fusion-pilot-program-ready-to-back-designs-from-industryled-teams/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Department of Energy Announces $50 Million for a Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program" (in en). https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/department-energy-announces-50-million-milestone-based-fusion-development-program. 
  4. ↑ Bringing Fusion to the U.S. Grid. Committee on the Key Goals and Innovation Needed for a U.S. Fusion Pilot Plant, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Board on Energy and Environmental Systems, Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Academy of Engineering, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. 2021-12-16. doi:10.17226/25991. ISBN 978-0-309-68538-2. https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25991. 
  5. ↑ "Readout of the White House Summit on Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy | OSTP" (in en-US). 2022-04-19. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/04/19/readout-of-the-white-house-summit-on-developing-a-bold-decadal-vision-for-commercial-fusion-energy/. 
  6. ↑ "Fact Sheet: Developing a Bold Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy | OSTP" (in en-US). 2022-03-15. https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/03/15/fact-sheet-developing-a-bold-vision-for-commercial-fusion-energy/. 
  7. ↑ Hsu, Scott (Feb 26, 2023). "Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy, Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable Webinar: Unlocking New Possibilities for Commercial Fusion National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine". https://www.nationalacademies.org/documents/embed/link/LF2255DA3DD1C41C0A42D3BEF0989ACAECE3053A6A9B/file/DE0B2D8467B2F5DF90256B7236D22B53B7BE863DE9C5?noSaveAs=1. 
  8. ↑ "U.S. fusion pilot program ready to back designs from industry-led teams". American Nuclear Society. September 27, 2022. https://www.ans.org/news/article-4355/us-fusion-pilot-program-ready-to-back-designs-from-industryled-teams/. 
  9. ↑ Department of Energy Announces $50 Million for a Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program, United States Department of Energy Office of Science, September 22, 2022, https://www.energy.gov/science/articles/department-energy-announces-50-million-milestone-based-fusion-development-program 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "OSTI FOA number DE-FOA-0002809". September 22, 2022. https://science.osti.gov/grants/FOAs/-/media/grants/pdf/foas/2022/SC_FOA_0002809.pdf. 
  11. ↑ "DOE Announces New Decadal Fusion Energy Strategy" (in en). https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-new-decadal-fusion-energy-strategy. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Behr, Peter (2024-02-27). "Intellectual property fights hobble DOE fusion program" (in en-US). https://www.eenews.net/articles/intellectual-property-fights-hobble-doe-fusion-program/. 
  13. ↑ "DOE Announces New Decadal Fusion Energy Strategy" (in en). https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-new-decadal-fusion-energy-strategy. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "ORNL to be involved in multiple DOE-funded commercial fusion energy development projects | ORNL". June 2023. https://www.ornl.gov/news/ornl-be-involved-multiple-doe-funded-commercial-fusion-energy-development-projects. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 "U.S. Department of Energy Announces Selectees for $107 Million Fusion Innovation Research Engine Collaboratives, and Progress in Milestone Program Inspired by NASA" (in en). January 16, 2025. https://www.energy.gov/articles/us-department-energy-announces-selectees-107-million-fusion-innovation-research-engine.  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:
  16. ↑ "Commonwealth Fusion Systems Signs $15 Million DOE Agreement To Advance Commercial Fusion Energy" (in en). https://cfs.energy/news-and-media/cfs-signs-15-million-doe-agreement-to-advance-commercial-fusion-energy/. 
  17. ↑ "Xcimer Energy Announces $9 Million US Department of Energy Award to Develop Laser-Driven Inertial Fusion Energy". May 31, 2023. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230531005976/en/Xcimer-Energy-Announces-9-Million-US-Department-of-Energy-Award-to-Develop-Laser-Driven-Inertial-Fusion-Energy. 
  18. ↑ "DOE award to Zap Energy for fusion pilot plant design". https://www.zapenergy.com//news/doe-award-to-zap-energy-for-fusion-pilot-plant-design. 



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