Saturday, 25 July 2026

The U.S. Department of Energy has picked the Prometheus project for a Phase II award worth $60 million spread across three years, according to Neutron Bytes. It is the first Phase II award under the DOE's Genesis Mission.

Thirty-two organizations back the effort, among them Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories, alongside academic groups and more than 20 industry partners such as X-energy, TerraPower, and Oklo, Neutron Bytes reported.

Beyond the federal award, backers have committed more than $200 million in industry cost share and $30 million in industry capital toward the work, according to Neutron Bytes.

The project applies AI across reactor design, licensing, manufacturing, construction, and operation, with people kept in the decision loop, Neutron Bytes reported. It also folds AI into nuclear fuel fabrication and into managing legacy nuclear documents.

"Prometheus combines nuclear science and artificial intelligence," said Idaho National Laboratory Director John Wagner.

The fusion industry raised USD 4.48 billion in the 12 months leading to July 2026, a record year, according to the Fusion Industry Association's Global Fusion Industry in 2026 report.

The sector has reported a total of USD 14.24 billion since the FIA's annual survey began in 2021 and now employs more than 16,000 people, according to the report.

The FIA surveyed 56 fusion companies for its sixth report, up from 23 in 2021, with six new entrants since 2025 and three companies withdrawing.

Major funding rounds included Commonwealth Fusion Systems raising USD 863 million in August 2025, Inertia Enterprises raising USD 450 million in February 2026, Helion Energy raising USD 465 million in June 2026, and Proxima Fusion raising USD 518 million in July 2026, according to the FIA.

The report says 71% of fusion companies still expect the first fusion plant to deliver commercial electricity by the 2030s.

The USA remains the center of private fusion investment, with 28 companies in this year's survey and all five billion-dollar-funded businesses based there, according to the FIA.

FIA CEO Andrew Holland said fusion has moved from being defined by national labs and government research and development programs to being dominated by private investment totaling over USD 4 billion in one year.

Gauss Fusion appointed Dr Uwe Bau as CEO, succeeding Milena Roveda, and released its fusion energy industrialization roadmap.