Commonwealth Fusion Systems

New Capabilities

SPARC tokamak at 75% completion as of May 2026; first plasma targeted for late 2026, net energy gain demonstration in 2027

NIF achieved ignition for the 11th time on June 20, 2026, producing 7.9 megajoules from 2.08 megajoules of laser energy. The Department of Energy approved a laser upgrade in April that will push NIF's laser energy from 2.2 to 2.6 megajoules, which would allow the 8.6-megajoule yield record to be broken.

Updated Oct 22

New Capabilities

Leads fusion digital twin project

The Energy Department moved $159 million into 12 new AI science projects on Oct 8, its second round of Genesis Mission awards. It also released eight 'priority applications' to steer its quantum computing push. AI company Anthropic has committed $150 million over three years to the mission.

Updated Oct 18