Proposal would fund fusion research and train future workers

The Energy Secretary would support research on fusion materials, fuel, manufacturing supplies, and different ways to produce fusion energy. The research covers fusion materials and fuel, manufacturing technologies, and magnetic, laser, and other fusion approaches. The Secretary may use private or international partnerships for some work. The text provides some fiscal year 2027 appropriations and authorizes additional amounts for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. Some listed funding is for fiscal year 2027; some authorized amounts cover fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

The Energy Secretary would run a program that could award federal money to selected private groups after they meet agreed fusion plant milestones. A pilot plant must supply at least 50 megawatts of net electricity to the grid for more than three continuous hours. Private groups must be found able to build a pilot plant and may partner with public entities. They pay costs until milestones are met and verified; an award for a milestone may cover no more than half its cost. The Secretary may end a partnership if a group misses milestones or for cause. The Secretary would have to start the program within six months after enactment. The bill provides $3 billion for the program, available until spent.

The bill would set up an Energy Department fusion office and a system for reviewing private groups seeking work with National Laboratories. The review system covers private groups seeking agreements or work with one or more National Laboratories. The Secretary would set different levels of review based on prior reviews and the proposed work. More Department review would be required only for specified high-risk technology work involving a country of concern. The office would bring existing fusion programs together and coordinate with other agencies and research groups.

Federal science and energy officials could support fusion education, job training, and a national coordination hub. Activities could serve students, educators, and workers in fusion fields through colleges, nonprofits, labor groups, and other eligible partners. The National Science Foundation and Energy Secretary may make awards for education and workforce activities. The hub would be led by a college or nonprofit consortium with at least four colleges, including at least one junior or community college. The hub could operate for five years, with a possible second five-year term after a successful review. The bill authorizes education funding for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

For selected fusion awards, the bill would protect certain private intellectual property and limit when the Secretary could require U.S.-made supplies. These rules apply to selected entities receiving awards or funding under the specified fusion research and milestone programs. The protections apply to eligible entities and their contractors or subcontractors participating in the specified programs, subject to the cited federal laws. The Secretary could require U.S.-made supplies only after finding they are available in sufficient quantity, at a reasonable price, and with sufficient quality. The waiver authority would expire December 31, 2036. The authority limiting domestic-content requirements would expire on December 31, 2036. A group could appeal a supply-availability finding, and the Secretary would have 90 days to confirm or retract it.