From Lab to Grid: Making Fusion Energy Reality

Pacific Fusion’s Head of Business Development Doug Perkins argues that fusion energy is now within reach and that the immediate priority is industrializing systems to deliver low-cost, reliable power.

• Main announcement/action: The author calls for focusing on industrialization, modular design, resilient domestic supply chains, and tailored regulation to make fusion commercially viable; cites December 2022 breakthroughs at Lawrence Livermore National Lab (National Ignition Facility) and Sandia National Labs (Z Machine), notes >53 companies working on fusion with more than $10 billion raised (>30% raised in the past year), and specifies a target operating cost of less than $100 per MWh as an approximate market-viability threshold.
• Background and concrete details: The piece references the ADVANCE Act (2024) which clarifies fusion regulation separate from fission and notes implementing rules anticipated by end of 2027; it highlights the Fusion Industry Association’s 2025 Supply Chain report warning of supply vulnerabilities and recommends designs using simple, widely available domestic materials and reduced tritium dependence and losses.