In the News — 2026
May 7, 2026
Lawrence lab moves toward power upgrades on the National Ignition Facility
The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the only facility to achieve nuclear fusion in a lab, is moving toward a significant enhancement in its capabilities. (Danville San Ramon News)
May-June 2026
Three Paths to Fusion Power
Several start-ups are trying to produce fusion reactors that are as useful as traditional power plants. These efforts take three general technological approaches. (American Scientist)
April 30, 2026
Energy Department Gives Greenlight to NIF Upgrade at LLNL
A plan to upgrade the lasers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) has taken a critical step forward. (The Independent)
April 23, 2026
LLNL Partners with Inertia to Develop Laser Fusion Power
The company hopes to commercialize laser-fusion technology previously proven at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) by optimizing the efficiency of the lasers used and of the processes that produce the fuel targets. (The Independent)
April 15, 2026
LLNL and Inertia sign R&D partnership agreements
According to Inertia, through these projects the company will work on scaling the performance and production of the fusion fuel targets used at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and LLNL staff will apply the same inertial confinement fusion design codes used to achieve ignition to help Inertia design its high-gain fusion target with greater confidence. (Nuclear Newswire)
April 14, 2026
Inertia Enterprises Links With Livermore Lab to Commercialize Fusion Energy
The deal represents one of the largest public-private partnerships in the history of the national labs. (Heatmap)
April 14, 2026
Inertia moves to commercialize one of the world’s most elaborate science experiments
The deals could give Inertia a boost over rival startups. The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at LLNL is so far the only experiment to prove that controlled fusion reactions could produce more power than they require to ignite. (TechCrunch)
April 14, 2026
Trump administration adds to US nuclear fusion bets
Fusion developer Inertia Enterprises on Tuesday forged new partnerships with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the latest sign that the Department of Energy is joining forces with energy startup companies. (E&E News by Politico)
April 10, 2026
Every fusion startup that has raised over $100M
Over the last several years, fusion power has gone from the butt of jokes — always a decade away! — to an increasingly tangible and tantalizing technology that has drawn investors off the sidelines. (TechCrunch)
April 9, 2026
We Have an Opportunity with Fusion We Can’t Afford to Miss
Thanks to the presence of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and its National Ignition Facility, we in the Tri-Valley are well-positioned to take advantage of the rise of commercial fusion power. (The Independent)
February 18, 2026
Fusion roundup: Helion sets temperature record; Inertia raises $450M
Inertia Enterprises was founded in August 2025 with the stated goal of capitalizing on and commercializing the fusion advancements made in recent years by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In December 2022, LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment to achieve fusion ignition. (Nuclear Newswire)
February 12, 2026
Who Will Be First To Unlock Nuclear Fusion?
While China has participated in international fusion research projects for many years, these efforts accelerated dramatically after America’s National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore was able to achieve fusion ignition in 2022, demonstrating that it was possible to produce more energy than the laser energy used to drive it under laboratory conditions. (Forbes)
February 12, 2026
Twilio co-founder raises $450 million for Livermore fusion startup
Inertia Enterprises wants to commercialize nuclear fusion. Here’s who’s behind the Bay Area-based startup. (San Francisco Business Times)
February 11, 2026
Fusion Startup Raises $450 Million in Bid to Make Power Using World’s Biggest Lasers
Inertia is pursuing a different path, using powerful lasers to set off fusion reactions. That method was validated for the first time in a 2022 breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Bloomberg)
February 9, 2026
Can physicist Tammy Ma lead us to abundant clean energy?
The high point of Tammy Ma’s career happened while she was sleeping. Early one December morning in 2022, scientists at the National Ignition Facility in Livermore, California, fired 192 lasers at a peppercorn-size fuel pellet suspended in a giant blue orb. (Washington Post)
February 9, 2026
Research Brings Results in Search for ‘Holy Grail’ of Clean Energy
Progress is being made, thanks to projects such as the multinational ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) in France, and research at U.S. labs including the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, which in 2022 became the first site to achieve ignition. (Power Magazine)
February 5, 2026
Pacific Fusion finds a cheaper way to make its fusion reactor work
Fusion power’s biggest question remains unanswered: How do you ensure the cost to start the fusion reaction isn’t higher than the price at which you can sell the power? (TechCrunch)
January 22, 2026
Struggling fusion power company General Fusion to go public via $1B reverse merger
General Fusion revealed its survival plan: It will go public through a reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company, Spring Valley III, combined with additional investment from institutional investors. (TechCrunch)
January 18, 2026
Nuclear fusion seems hot right now — but how close is fusion power?
Nuclear fusion milestones from Canada's General Fusion and China's EAST reactor have caused a buzz over this potentially limitless, clean energy source becoming a reality amid rising power demand from AI and electrification. Meanwhile, new fusion startups have been popping up around the world and have drawn billions in private investment. (CBC)
January 10, 2026
How to Make Fusion Great Again and Beat China
The U.S. can achieve preeminence in fusion power — if we’re willing to lean into incentives and free enterprise to encourage innovation. (The National Review)
January 9, 2026
Funny Fusion at the Foundry: Science Meets Comedy in a Star-Powered Deep Dive
Video: The LA Times Studios and Monks lounge brought a different kind of spark to CES this year. (Los Angeles Times)
January 1, 2026
New Lab Partnership Looks to Improve Laser-Fusion Efficiency
A new partnership between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology (ILT) in Germany looks to perfect the amplifiers used in laser-based fusion reactors. (The Independent)
