Investment trends show confidence in fusion is rising says FIA

The fusion industry raised $2.64 billion in private and public funding in the 12 months leading to July 2025, according to the annual Global Fusion Industry report by the Fusion Industry Association (FIA).

The figure marks a significant increase from 2024 and is the second highest yearly fusion funding figure since the report began, after the 2022 record year.

Now in its fifth year, the report provides a view of the growth of the fusion sector and progress towards commercial fusion deployment. This year, 53 fusion companies responded - up from 23 in 2021 - with eight new entrants since last year.

“With a half-decade of consistent data, we can now identify clear trends that speak to both the promise and challenges of commercial fusion energy,” comments Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association.

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“The acceleration of capital, even when the global economy has tightened, is a signal of maturing investor confidence, technological progress, and a rapidly coalescing supply chain. The maturation of the ecosystem, and increased interest from governments via public-private partnerships show fusion is no longer a purely scientific effort; it is a global industrial movement.”

This year’s total figure includes several major funding rounds including the $900 million Series A for US-based Pacific Fusion, which came out of stealth mode in November 2024.

Other significant rounds included a $425 million Series F for US-based Helion in January 2025, and €113 million ($132 million) Series B for Germany-based Marvel Fusion.

Despite the acceleration in funding, 83% of respondents still consider investment a major challenge. And when asked how much more investment each company would need to bring their first pilot plants online, answers ranged from $3 million to $12.5 billion, with a median response of $700 million.

Giving a total of $77 billion, this is eight times more than has been committed to the industry to date, though the report emphasizes that this should not be taken as the total investment needed, as there will inevitably be some consolidation, with a smaller number of market leaders emerging.

According to FIA, fusion companies remain confident in their timelines for delivering fusion-generated electricity to the grid, with 84% of respondents believing this will happen before the end of the 2030s and 53% by 2035.

The report also highlights that backing is coming from a wide range of investors, including deep tech venture capital firms like DCVC and Breakthrough Energy Ventures; industrial giants such as Chevron, Siemens Energy, and Nucor; sovereign and quasi-public funds including In-Q-Tel, the European Innovation Council Fund, and Plynth Energy; and strategic players from the energy sector like Shell Ventures and Energy Impact Partners.

The amount of public funding invested in fusion companies also increased by 84% from last year, growing by almost $360 million to nearly $800 million in total.

More than half of the fusion energy startups in the report are based in the US (29), while a further 13 are in Europe. The remainder are operating in more than a dozen countries across Asia and Oceania.

The survey showed fusion companies directly employ 4,607 people and support at least 9,300 supply chain jobs, though this is likely an undercount as not all companies provided employee data. Since 2021, the number of people employed directly by fusion companies has more than quadrupled.