As private fusion efforts gain momentum worldwide, a crucial question emerges: how do we finance not only the reactors themselves but also the vast and complex supply chains that make fusion possible? In 2024 alone, private fusion companies collectively spent USD 434 million on supply chain procurement, nearly double the previous year’s total, according to a recent report by the Fusion Industry Association (FIA). This explosive growth points to a fast-evolving ecosystem, one that relies on strategic public-private partnerships, innovative funding models and a new breed of niche suppliers, many of whom trace their origins to ITER.Public/private partnerships help power the fusion economyFor decades, ITER has been the cornerstone of fusion efforts worldwide—and the industrial legacy of the project is now catalyzing new commercial ventures. “Hundreds of companies across Europe have gained valuable expertise through ITER,” said Erik Fernandez, General Manager of Spain’s science industry association INEUSTAR, during the April 2025 ITER Private Sector Fusion Workshop. “They’ve evolved from build-to-print contractors into co-design partners collaborating directly with researchers.”Building on this theme, Fernandez explained how public funding has de-risked advanced manufacturing and brought coherence to what was once a fragmented ecosystem. These capabilities now form the backbone of a supply chain that is becoming essential not only in Europe but also in the United States and Asia.Jack Cohen, Director of Supplier Integration at Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), noted during the workshop that CFS will spend 80% of its SPARC tokamak procurement budget this year—much of it going to ITER-qualified suppliers. “That’s a testament to public investment laying the groundwork for private fusion success,” he said.For some companies, participation in the fusion supply chain has become a business model in its own right. Mohamed Ben Sasi is the Investment Manager at First Light Fusion, a company that was once focused on developing an inertial confinement reactor that has more recently shifted course to become a specialized supplier. “We believe the key to achieving commercial inertial fusion power plants lights in our proprietary amplifier technology,” he told the audience at the workshop.This pivot has not just allowed First Light to generate near-term revenue, it has also made them indispensable to other fusion ventures. “Our approach is based on a simple principle: energy is relatively cheap, but power is expensive,” he said. “So, rather than building ever-more-powerful drivers, our amplifiers enable better use of the available energy, effectively making inertial fusion more economical.” The company now produces high-precision amplifiers compatible with pulsed power and laser-driven fusion setups—and even supports experimental platforms like Sandia National Laboratories’ Z Machine.New investment models and careful timing may be the missing ingredientsWhile some companies are innovating from within, others are being shaped from the outside—particularly by a new generation of investors who see fusion not merely as a scientific moonshot, but as a geopolitical and infrastructural imperative.Investors present at the ITER acknowledged that they see fusion through a long-term lens. “We looked at several domains—including biotech, AI, and energy,” one such investor explained. “Fusion stood out. It had the largest delta between what’s theoretically possible and what’s actually resourced. That meant the marginal impact of entering the field could be enormous.”In some cases, this may translate to tranche-based investments. Rather than releasing full capital upfront, investors commit funds in defined stages—each tied to the achievement of specific technical milestones. This model, borrowed from the venture capital world but adapted for deep-tech infrastructure, allows high-net-worth individuals, sovereign funds, and philanthropic institutions to manage risk while maintaining long-term support.This approach is now spreading beyond private markets to collaboration with government agencies, including the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority and the US Department of Energy, to apply tranche logic to public-private funding flows. They have also directed funding to critical infrastructure outside the core reactor such aslike AI-powered materials labs, cyclotron testing facilities, and extreme-environment sensors.Large investments are being made around the world to fund both types of fusion projects. In China, state-owned Fusion Energy Inc was formed in December 2024 to provide the necessary financial support for projects that aim to build an industrial prototype reactor. Kyoto Fusioneering in Japan and Enable Fusion in Korea similarly aim to bring together the resources necessary to accelerate the commercialization of fusion energy and have received large sums to support their activities.From the supplier side, the biggest challenge is not talent or technology—it is timing. “Companies are hesitant to invest in specialized capabilities without a guarantee of commercial viability,” said Fernandez. “But if we wait for the first reactor to succeed before building the supply chain, we’ll be too late.”Whether it is far-sighted investors funding high-risk materials research, private firms creating a business from precision technology or leveraging the lessons of ITER to accelerate tokamak assembly, one thing is clear: no single actor can deliver fusion alone.Success demands a convergence of vision, capital, and coordination. It demands a supply chain that is agile, pre-qualified, and globally distributed. And it demands investors who are willing to back components as well as core reactors—because in fusion, even an amplifier can change the game.

Nearly 8 million people have passed through the gates of the 2025 World Expo in Osaka, Japan, since it opened on 13 April. At the ITER stand, a steady stream of visitors is learning how a collaboration of 33 countries is building the largest tokamak in the world.  One-third of the way through EXPO 2025, the visitor numbers are strong. Some 7,818,321 people have marveled at the extravagant architecture of the 188 pavilions that showcase cultural identity, futuristic technology, and the wonder of science. This past Sunday alone 149,000 people passed through the gate; millions more are expected before the curtain drops on 13 October 2025.The ITER project, presented inside the International Organizations pavilion, is also drawing a lot of attention. Besides families, other members of the public, and interested young researchers, official delegations have been passing through the exhibit several times a week requesting detailed information about the status of ITER and the fusion energy landscape in general. ITER and fusion pair well with the theme of "EXPO 2025: Designing Future Society for Our Lives." Japan's Takashi Inoue, Deputy Director General of the Naka Fusion Institute (National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology), has this to say about his experience at the ITER stand:"The Expo is truly a showcase of the future of the world. I was at the Osaka World Expo in 1970, where I saw a moon rock, the Apollo capsule, and even a Soyuz space ship from Soviet Union. This year, in addition to sand from the far side of the mooon (Chinese pavilion) and samples from an asteroid (Japanese Pavilion), we also have ITER! Many visitors are surprized to see the gigantic superconducting magnets that have already been manufactured and delivered from Japan to the ITER site, and to learn that the ITER fusion reactor is being assembled now. It is my great pleasure to tell them that fusion energy is in their future!"ITER will be hosting a dedicated day on fusion energy on Sunday 13 July. The event, which is open to the public, will take place in the National Day Hall.See impressions, and the detailed program for Fusion Day, in the gallery below.

ITER was back again at Viva Technology—an annual conference in Paris that gathers startups, investors, decision-makers, executives, and media for an event focused on innovation. One of the highlights at the ITER stand this year? The visit of French Prime Minister François Bayrou. VivaTech2025, held from 11-14 June, gave the floor to the types of technology and innovation that have the power to change the way we live. Themes like artificial intelligence, innovation in health and medicine, the future of work, cybersecurity, and quantum technologies were at centre stage. Fusion energy was represented as well, with both private and public initiatives attending. During a panel discussion, ITER Head of Communication Laban Coblentz recounts the recent steps that the ITER project has taken to harness the potential of AI, including a collaboration with Microsoft that started earlier this year. ITER's Head of Communication Laban Coblentz took part in the panel discussion "AI, Nuclear, and the Quest for limitless (clean) energy." Before a packed audience, the panel discussed how nuclear— both fusion and fission—is becoming central to our energy future and how AI can shape and accelerate progress.  The fourth day of VivaTech2025 was open to members of the public. The 9th edition of VivaTech took place in Paris, Porte de Versailles, from 11 to 14 June. The event, under the theme of "The New Frontiers of Innovation," broke attendance records with more than 180,000 visitors and 14,000 startups. It was the third time ITER was represented.

A new report on the private fusion sector has been published by the Fusion for Energy (F4E) Observatory, describing "the vibrant and complex landscape of global fusion private investment." It tracks the rapid growth that has been documented in the sector since 2020, and highlights the concentrated nature of that growth geographically—with the US and China accounting for 85% of all funding. While the global private market currently favours magnetic confinement fusion (70% of funding), the European Union's private sector is instead allocating most funding (69%) to inertial confinement. As noted in the report, this important difference in the European Union's ecosystem may be a result of the availability of stable public funding for magnetic confinement fusion project. Indeed, the EUR 6.8 billion public investment in the European fusion supply chain for ITER, allocated through Fusion for Energy, has created "a foundational asset of unparalleled value"—a world-class industrial base. "However, aside from spinoff applications outside fusion, the long-term sustainability of these supply chains depends on a future fusion technologies market and commercial fusion plants, and this may be one of the main challenges facing the European Union in the coming years."With these data-based insights, the F4E Observatory aims to support the policy conversation around the future European Union fusion strategy.You can download or read the full report here.See the announcement of the report on the Fusion for Energy website here.